Events

  • Film Screening and Discussion of the Black Patriots of Lexington: Venus Roe

    Cary Memorrial Library 1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, United States

    Celebrate the 242nd Anniversary of Massachusetts Emancipation Day, aka Quock Walker Day

    Quock Walker was enslaved in Barre, MA. His 1781 civil lawsuit for battery led to the 1783 criminal case that ended slavery in Massachusetts. Venus Roe was enslaved by Jonas Roe in Lexington. At about three years old, she was gifted to Smitheren Reed of Woburn District. Venus Roe was emancipated in the wake of the third Quock Walker case, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennison.