Virtual - Celebrating America's 250th: "The Escapes of David George" with author Gregory E. O'Malley

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email. Due to limited space, if you know you cannot make it live do not register with zoom but please fill outTHIS FORMto receive the video link.** We are so pleased to be starting this 9 week series to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Were thrilled to welcome author and historican Gregory E. OMalley who will be discussing his book, The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution which reveals a remarkable, untold experience of the American revolutionary perioda Black mans quest for the freedom espoused by our Founders, but denied him and other enslaved people. We hope you can join us for this fascinating conversation! Register directly on ZoomHERE. Due to limited space, if you know you cannot make it live do not register with zoom but please fill outTHIS FORMto receive the video link. RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program. You can buy signed books by Gregory from Aesops Fable, just make a note that you want the books signed when you check out. Buy Signed Books By Gregory (link coming soon) About the book: When most Americans think of slavery, they do not picture the colonial or revolutionary eras. Yet, in fact, one of six inhabitants of the thirteen original colonies was enslaved. The Escapes of David George: an Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolutionreveals a remarkable, untold experience of the American revolutionary perioda Black mans quest for the freedom espoused by our Founders, but denied him and other enslaved people. In 1762, at the age of 19, David George escaped from a plantation in Virginia. Running southwest by night, fording rivers and crossing borders, he embarked on a decades-long journey in and out of captivity that spanned multiple colonies and thousands of miles. George lived among White, Black, Creek, and Natchez settlements, fled to the British Army for the promise of liberty, founded what might have been the first Black Baptist church, helped to hack a settlement for refugees out of the Nova Scotia wilderness, and died as a leader of an experimental anti-slavery community in Sierra Leone. Piecing together archival records and David Georges own brief account of his lifethe earliest written testimony by a fugitive enslaved person in North AmericaGregory OMalley presents a thrilling narrative and a unique perspective on our nations origins, principles, and contradictions.. About Gregory: Greg OMalley is a historian of slavery, the slave trade, and early America. He is professor and department chair in the History Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His first book,Final Passages: The Intercolonial Slave Trade of British America, 1619-1807, received four awards: The America Historical Associations Forkosch Prize for British history; the AHAs Rawley Prize for Atlantic history; The Owsley Award from the Southern Historical Association; and the Goveia Prize from the Association of Caribbean Historians. The book examines a brutal network for distributing enslaved Africans throughout North America and the Caribbean after their survival of the Atlantic crossing. OMalley is also co-creator (with Alex Borucki) of the Intra-American Slave Trade Database, a free online research tool that documents more than 35,000 human trafficking voyages from one port in the Americas to another. His second book,The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution, was published in February by St. Martins Press. It offers a life history of a man born enslaved in colonial Virginia, whose attempts to escape bondage resulted in wide-ranging travels, captivities, and re-enslavements, illuminating both enslaved peoples resistance and the powerful barriers to their escape. David George finally found emancipation by fleeing the emerging United States and running to the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Please register for this event and youll receive the link in the confirmation and reminder emails - make sure to check your spam folder for them, the email will be coming from Zoom. Due to limited space, if you know you cannot make it live do not register with zoom but please fill outTHIS FORMto receive the video link. This program is sponsored by theFriends of the Ashland Public Libraryand were thrilled to be collaborating with a multitude of MA Libraries to bring this program to our communities.