Quock Walker is not a household name — yet. But in 2022, the state designated July 8 as Massachusetts Emancipation Day, a.k.a Quock Walker Day, celebrating Walker’s contributions to ending slavery in the Commonwealth.
This past Saturday, the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) hosted its fourth community celebration of Quock Walker Day at First Parish Church near the Battle Green.
Walker was an enslaved Black man living in the Barre, MA area in the mid-to late 1700s. He self-emancipated because he had “audacity to hope,” says public historian and Lexington resident Sean Osborne, who is responsible for leading the effort to have the state of Massachusetts recognize this day.
Walker’s enslaver, James Caldwell, had promised him freedom by age 25. However, Caldwell died before Walker reached that age. When Caldwell’s widow Isabell married a local man, Nathaniel Jennison, Jennison considered Walker his property.
But Walker hadn’t forgotten Caldwell’s promise. In 1781, he walked from Jennison’s farm five miles back to the Caldwell farm, where he worked for the sons of James Caldwell, receiving wages. After a few weeks of trying to persuade Walker to return, Jennison hit him five times with a whip and placed him in a sawmill under guard.
A few hours later, the Caldwell brothers convinced the guard to free Walker. Walker filed a lawsuit and Jennison was found guilty. On July 8, 1783, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision upheld the decision. This landmark case contributed to ending slavery as a legal practice in Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice William Cushing wrote that “perpetual servitude” was incompatible with the Constitution of the state of Massachusetts.
This year, Lexington’s observation of Quock Walker Day began early Saturday, July 6, with the Hike for Freedom beginning at Bowman Elementary School. Jon Suber, president of ABCL, and his son Eddie, marked the trail through one of the Across Lexington routes for walkers.
Yvette DePeiza, a longtime Boston resident who walked the trail with her brother Fabian, said she wanted to “come out and support” this day, noting how “excited” she was when Massachusetts recognized this part of its own history.
Stephanie Hsu, vice chair of Lexington Human Rights Committee, who brought her 13-year-old son to the hike, agreed that Quock Walker Day is an opportunity to show more of the “history of the Black population” and “highlight people who would have been forgotten.”
After a short set by the William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps, the opening ceremony featured remarks from State Representatives Michele Ciccolo and Mike Barrett and public historian Robert Bellinger, Ph.D.
Lexington Select Board Chair Doug Lucente said Lexington’s proclamation of Quock Walker day would be signed this Monday, July 8 to commemorate the court decision.
The event also included a concert by Crocodile River Music and a West African dance workshop for enthusiastic participants of all ages.
Downstairs there was the sense of going back in time, with tables full of information about local Black families from the Revolutionary War era, such as Kate Barbadoes and her descendants, as well as abolitionists and later civil rights activists. There was a flax-processing demonstration to show how some local Black residents made a living in the 1700s, and those attending were invited to try the tools out themselves.
Mary Alice Haddad of Hancock Church, who worked with members of First Parish on the event, mentioned how heartening it was to have people attending not just from Lexington, but Bedford, Quincy and beyond. She said organizers wanted it to be a fun, engaging event that people who knew or didn’t know anything about the Black population in Lexington could experience.
As Michael Powell who came from Boston to attend the Hike for Freedom noted, “a lot of people could be doing something else today, but instead they’re doing this.”