Days of Danger: Lexington’s Robbins & Follen families and the risks they took to fight slavery

Some Lexingtonians were part of anti-slavery efforts in Massachusetts as early as the 1830s. Learn how families and individuals associated with the Ellen Stone Building—like the Robbins, Stone, and Follen families and activists like Rev. Theodore Parker—worked to be heard in these early days despite significant opposition from those who profited from slavery. Hear how these anti-slavery advocates continued their efforts up through the 1850s when dramatic events in Boston led to open conflict with “slavecatchers” seeking to capture self-emancipated Black residents, and the tide of public opinion began to turn.