Month: July 2022

Join the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington on Friday, July 8, 2022, for the 2nd Annual Quock Walker Day aka Massachusetts Emancipation Day Community Celebration.

This virtual event begins at 7 pm.

For more information and to register, Quock Walker Day Community Celebration – Friday, July 8, 2022 – Black Farmers Persevere

To join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82831721592?pwd=UllZamVJYy9OdkJQMVhHcEtMcDNGdz09

Passcode: 989224

Quock Walker Day celebrates the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision of July 8, 1783, that found a White enslaver guilty of assault on Quock Walker, a freedom seeking Black man, and agreed with Chief Justice Cushing that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.

The Quock Walker trials span from 1781 to 1783. In 1781 Quock Walker, a young man from Barre, MA and of Akan and/or Ewe lineage, filed a civil suit against Nathaniel Jennison for assault and battery.  Mr. Walker was found by the jury to be free and was awarded 50 pounds. Following appeals and a criminal case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found Jennison guilty of assault and agreed that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.

Mr. Walker’s fight through the legal system to safeguard his natural freedom resulted in the end of slavery in Massachusetts.

This year ABCL will celebrate the audacity of Quock Walker, the Black farmer, and explore the role that Black farmers continue to play in addressing racial disparities and providing food and income for their families.

Invited speakers include

• Massachusetts Emancipation Day aka Quock Walker Day Proclamation – Jill Hai, Lexington Select Board

• Harvest Poetry – Regie Gibson, Literary Performer

• Using Community Gardens for Subsistence Farming and to Grow Cash Crops – Victorine Nduku, Nurse and Farmer

• Continuing the Tradition of Black Farmers in the Northeast – Earl Ransom, 2^nd Generation Dairy Farmer, Strafford Organic Creamery at Rockbottom Farm

Hosted by the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington.

On Saturday, July 9, 2022, the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) is hosting the second annual Quock Walker Day Hike for Freedom.  This intergenerational event is an opportunity for Lexington residents and other friends of liberty to celebrate Massachusetts Emancipation Day while enjoying the sites along ACROSS Lexington Route M.  ACROSS Lexington Route M is an approximately 3.3-mile looped trail. The event will start at 8 am at Bowman Elementary School, 9 Philip Rd, Lexington, MA 02421. 

Quock Walker Day (also known as Massachusetts Emancipation Day) celebrates a historic court case won in 1783 by Quock Walker, a self-emancipated man who sued his enslaver for assault and battery. In winning the case, Chief Justice William Cushing not only granted Walker compensation, but also the assurance that slavery was incompatible with the state constitution.

Mr. Walker was a farm worker whose perseverance led to end of slavery in Massachusetts.  This year ABCL recognizes Quock Walker’s indomitable spirit and present-day Black Farmers who continue to persevere.

Participants may register online and in person between 7:30 and 9 am on July 9.  We encourage participants to register online by July 7, 2022, to guarantee receipt of a commemorative t-shirt.

ACROSS Lexington, a project of the Greenways Corridor Committee, is a network of marked trails and paths for walkers, runners, and trail bikers.  ABCL requests that participants practice “leave no trace” ethics by leaving the land in equal or better condition than you found it.  Participants are requested to remove and properly dispose of any waste that you generate.

Participants are responsible for bringing and using activity-appropriate equipment, (insect repellant, proper footwear, sufficient water, etc.), and for carrying the proper clothing (hat, rain gear, etc.).  Ticks and mosquitoes may be encountered along the trail.

Participants will have an opportunity to take a picture with the Quock Walker banner which is part of the Black History Project of Lexington.  Please upload photos of your experiences during Quock Walker Day Hike for Freedom on social media, #QWDHike4Freedom.