Presented by Maynard Public Library
Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 pm
Register here
In celebration of Black History Month, Maynard author and historian David Mark will speak about Massachusetts’ history of slavery.
Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery (1641) and the first to end it (1783). A census conducted in 1754 reported that between 1 and 2% of the colony’s population was adult slaves (children were not counted). With the Revolutionary War still raging on, Massachusetts passed a state constitution in 1780. Key wording: “All men are born free and equal…” A court case a few years later confirmed this applied to people of color.
Register here
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