The Museum of the Albemarle will host a lecture and book signing on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 6 p.m. as author J. Brent Morris, professor of history at the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, shares information and stories on the maroons, their lives, and their struggles for liberation in Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp.
Drawing from newly discovered primary sources and archeological evidence that suggests far more extensive maroon settlement than historians have previously imagined in the Great Dismal Swamp, which covers almost 2,000 square miles and is in Virginia and North Carolina, Morris uncovers one of the most exiting yet neglected stories of American history.
This is the story of resilient, proud, and determined people who made the Great Dismal Swamp their free home and sanctuary and who played an outsized role in undermining slavery through the Civil War.
The Museum will offer the History for Lunch in-person and through Zoom. Register in advance through the Museum’s Facebook page or MuseumOfTheAlbemarle.com to receive a link to attend the lecture virtually.
The virtual program is supported by Southern Bank of Elizabeth City.