June 13: Land/Mark Symposium

Land/Mark: A Symposium on Enslavement, Resistance, and the 
Revolution

Saturday, June 13th, 11am – 3pm
Cambridge Public Library Lecture Hall
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138
Free and open to the public
Registration required

This symposium explores the story of Mark, Phillis and Phebe, three enslaved people punished in 1755 for fatally poisoning their enslaver, John Codman, in order to break free from slavery. The case was so well known that 40 years later, Paul Revere referenced Mark when describing his famous 1775 ride. How should we remember Mark, Phillis, and Phebe today? And how are scholars, artists, activists, and community members working to reclaim the stories of Black life, resistance, and rebellion that have been erased?

About the Symposium

As ongoing celebrations mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, conversations often focus on historic battles and soldiers who served in the fight for independence. We tend to value documents such as the Declaration of Independence while minimizing the freedom petitions of enslaved people that exposed a fraught union. If we place the American Revolution against the backdrop of Black freedom movements of the era, how might we tell a different story of our nation?

This symposium explores the story of Mark, Phillis and Phebe, three enslaved people punished in 1755 for fatally poisoning their enslaver, John Codman, in order to break free from slavery. The case was so well known that 40 years later, Paul Revere used the location of one of their bodies as a landmark when describing his famous 1775 ride.

How should we remember Mark, Phillis and Phebe today? And how are scholars, artists, activists, and community members work-ing to reclaim the stories of Black life, resistance, and rebellion that have been erased?

The event will include two panel discussions and a keynote address by Kellie Carter Jackson, author or We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance.

Panelists include Aabid Allibhai, Jaimie Crumley, Dan Breen, Ifé Franklin, Dell M. Hamilton, Angela M. Counts, Kendra Field and Kyera Singleton.

Refreshments will be provided.

This program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). It is presented by the Royall House & Slave Quarters and the Somerville Museum in partnership with the Cambridge Public Library, History Cambridge, and Cambridge Black History Project, Old North Church, and the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice.