This month we discuss Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland by Scott Shane.
Born into slavery in Baltimore, Thomas Smallwood was able to gain his freedom as an adult. Enlisting the assistance of a white abolitionist named Charles Torrey, Smallwood helped enslaved persons to escape and flee to freedom in Canada. In the aftermath of these escapes, the literate Smallwood would print taunting letters to the slave owners in an abolitionist newspaper, concealing his identity with a pen name. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Shane shines light on Smallwood’s heroic work, the horrors of the interstate slave trade, and the racism that permeated even the abolitionist movement.
Copies of the book will be available at the Circulation Desk one month before the meeting date.
Please note: Spaces are limited. Registration is required.