Liberty Loving People: Black Abolitionists and the Struggle over Slavery in California

Historian Susan D. Anderson will speak and present documents and images about the surprising chapter in California's early history, the struggle over slavery. Admitted into the United States as a free state, California's legislature passed a Fugitive Slave Act in 1852, and was a site for the Underground Railroad, as well as contests in the courts over who was legally free. The culmination of Ms. Anderson's talk will be a live "interview" with Mary Ellen Pleasant, one of San Francisco's leading and most wealthy citizens during the 19th century, who, played by scholar and performer, Dr. Susheel Bibbs, will discuss her anti-slavery activities. The presentation will include readings by actor, director and educator Adimu Madyun, from historical black newspapers and proceedings from the Conventions of Colored Citizens of California.