Sheffield — The town’s Historical Society will hold its annual Elizabeth “Mum Bett” Freeman Celebration Day on Sunday, August 20. Last year, the town unveiled an eight-foot-tall bronze statue dedicated to Freeman on the town’s Village Green.
Freeman was born in Claverack-Red Mills, N.Y. around 1744 and died in Stockbridge in 1829. As a slave, she sued for her freedom before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and won it in 1781. Freeman won her case more than 80 years before the Emancipation Proclamation became law in January 1863.
This year’s Celebration Day will start with the 13th annual Elizabeth Freeman Walk to Freedom starting at the Ashley House, at 117 Cooper Hill Road in Ashley Falls, at 9 a.m. The walk will lead down to the Sheffield Green, which is where Freeman’s attorney, Theodore Sedwick, had an office. The event commemorates Freeman’s “walk to freedom” in hiring Sedwick to represent her.
The event will continue at 10:30 a.m. with a brief talk about Freeman and Shays’ Rebellion at the Old Stone Store, located at 159 Main Street. According to the Historical Society’s website, the Old Stone Store is the oldest existing mercantile establishment in town, which was built around 1834 by Major Eli Ensign. The Old Stone Store is the location for the Historical Society’s exhibitions and its programs.
At 11 a.m., there will be a commemorative ceremony held at the statue, which will include several speakers.
During the day, a ceremony will be held to announce award winners for the Elizabeth Freeman Essay contest, but as of press time, a specific time for the ceremony has not been determined.
At 4 p.m., The First Congregational Church of Sheffield will hold a performance of “Meet Elizabeth Freeman,” starring local actress and singer Wanda Houston.
“To me, Elizabeth Freeman represents what America is really all about,” Houston told The Berkshire Edge. “Here is a story of someone who used the resources that were available to her at the time to improve her life. In a general way, as an African American woman, it’s disappointing with the climate right now that there are people who don’t want to know about their own history. I am a lover of history because it shows us how we came to be who we are. We want to improve things for the future, but some people keep wanting to go back to things that were not good, and I don’t understand that.”
Houston said that even if “it’s ugly sometimes” and “not always pretty or noble,” it is important for people to learn about history. “Sometimes history is really nasty and ugly, but that’s who made us and how we got to where we are,” she said. “As far as African Americans are concerned, I think a lot of people still feel or do feel a lot of resentment, anger, and hatred [about history]. I don’t like the way African Americans are being treated now. And this is why it helps to know about history. These things need to be addressed because when the same things are being repeated [in society], it’s not improving anything. We don’t want racism in our society, but until we root it out, it’s going to be there. It drags everything down, and it slows the process of healing and improving the country.”
The story she likes to tell “is that a Black woman and a white man [Sedwick], both Americans, worked together to improve a situation in our country,” she said of her portrayal of Freeman. “That’s what needs to be done now,” Houston said. “When I portray her, I want people to know and understand where Elizabeth Freeman was in her life, and I want them to know hope. I want people to know and to learn about what you can do if you have hope in your life, and hope for yourself. I think that is what she wanted people to know. I think that Elizabeth Freeman didn’t think of herself as anything other than a human being who made her life and her situation better.”
For more information, go to the Historical Society’s website.
