Whether free, fugitive or enslaved, just before the Civil War the Black women of Washington, D.C., faced tremendous obstacles with courage and ingenuity, as historian Tamika Nunley will explain in the debut of a new series at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. For the People speaker series begins Thursday, Feb. 24, with the presentation by Nunley, author of At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C. By digging through 19th century newspapers, records, letters and memoirs, Nunley has shed new light on how Black women built their identities and lives beyond the restrictions meant to keep them from experiencing liberty, self-respect and power. The book has received much praise and been called a “powerful history of Black women’s freedom-making in Washington.” To reserve a free seat at the presentation, visit the website at presidentlincoln.illinois.gov.
At the Threshold of Liberty
Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
212 N. Sixth St.
217-558-8844
Free
This article appears in Abortion haven 2022.
