Thompson Free Library will host Mary Freeman, assistant professor of history at the University of Maine, live via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 as the first speaker in a series celebrating Maine’s Bicentennial.
Dr. Freeman’s talk, titled “The Politics of Slavery in the Era of Maine Statehood,” will explore how the issue of slavery influenced Maine’s development and entrance into the U.S. as an independent state. It will also focus on African American political activism in Maine surrounding the issues of abolishing slavery and fighting for equal rights.
This event is free and open to the public.
To participate, join the Zoom meeting online at: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/87853753601 (Meeting ID: 878 5375 3601)
You can also dial in by phone at: 1 646-876-9923
Dr. Freeman studies the history of slavery and abolition in the United States, with a focus on Maine and New England. She received her PhD from Columbia University. Her current book project examines letter writing in the nineteenth-century antislavery movement, and she is also working on an article about abolition and African American politics in Maine.
Thompson Free Library’s Maine Bicentennial Speaker Series is supported by a Maine Bicentennial Community Grant and will explore topics and perspectives sometimes overlooked in traditional narratives of our state’s history.