On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the College will celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence by hosting a symposium on slavery, freedom, and the American Revolution. The UW project at the heart of this symposium is called Freedom Seekers: Stories of Black Liberation in the American Revolutionary Era and Beyond. It features a large and growing collection of stories about “freedom seekers”—that is, enslaved people who sought to escape bondage. The goal of the project is to help a broad audience understand that the American Revolution was not merely a pursuit for liberty on the part of white American Patriots; the people who sought to unshackle themselves from slavery at this time were crucial actors in the American story of freedom as well.
The Freedom Seekers symposium will begin at 4:00 PM with a catered (complimentary food and beverages) poster exhibition in the Wisconsin Historical Society lobby. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with researchers (including undergraduate students) who have carefully reconstructed stories about people who fled slavery in the era of the American Revolution. At 5:00 PM, Professor Gloria Whiting will deliver a keynote address, in which she will tell a series of freedom seekers stories, in the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium. All are welcome to attend this free commemoration of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
To join: Please register so we know to expect you.
This event is presented by the UW-Madison History Club and University Place by PBS Wisconsin. It is sponsored by the Department of History, the Department of African American Studies, the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Office of the Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities, the Anonymous Fund, and the Center for the Humanities.