August 16 @7:00 pm

Throughout his Journals, Thoreau occasionally mentions his encounters with Concord’s African-American families–people he once referred to as “outcasts.” But many of these outcast Concord residents were in fact deeply immersed in a wider, metropolitan world. Drawing on research conducted for The Robbins House, this talk follows members of Concord’s African-American families as they engaged with nineteenth-century Boston’s emerging black community. Some Concord residents were active members in the city’s African churches, its social organizations, and its vibrant political culture. What do these scattered pieces of evidence tell us about the antebellum experiences of those who lived at the edges of Concord society?

John Hannigan is a PhD candidate in History at Brandeis University and the Scholar-in-Residence at the Robbins House in Concord.