Florida’s Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad

Angola was a community of freedom seekers that in the 1810s was located between the Manatee River and Sarasota Bay. It was a place of refuge and peace until it was destroyed in a massive slave raid in 1821. What were the events that brought the freedom seekers to the Manatee River? What happened to those who were captured, and those who escaped?

Sherry Svekis will share the story of how the evidence for Angola was compiled by historians and archaeologists, leading to its recognition as a National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site.

Funded project of the Florida Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.