Join Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor for the next event in its Unearth a Story Summer Speaker Series.

Dr. Kate McMahon, executive director of the Castine Historical Society, will present “One Minute’s Freedom: Maine, Slavery, and the Promises of the American Revolution” on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Congregational Church (125 Townsend Ave).

The Declaration of Independence promised freedom and liberty for all, but the promises of the Declaration were at odds with the existence of slavery. This talk will explore the impacts of the American Revolution on enslavement in Maine, and the efforts of resistance and abolition by Black Mainers and their allies during the Revolutionary Era. McMahon will also examine the contradictions of the abolition of slavery in the District of Maine in 1784 and the continued involvement of and investment in the global economies of enslavement during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 

McMahon also serves on the Operational Committee of SlaveVoyages.org and is a co-founder and board member of Atlantic Black Box. Her current research explores New England’s connections to and complicity in the illegal slave trade and colonialism, 1809-1900. She is committed to exploring the living legacies of slavery and the slave trade in the present day and interpreting this history for a broad public through frequent public speaking engagements and scholarly production. 

The Congregational Church has a deep connection to this event’s topic. In the mid-1800s, the Congregational Church was a committed voice for abolition. Its pulpits regularly condemned slavery, and the town is believed to have served as an Underground Railroad stop. This commitment shaped its leadership: in 1844, the Rev. William Tobey, a noted abolitionist, took the pulpit after delivering a passionate 1839 address arguing it was just to restore "the oppressed sons of Africa" and repair the wrongs done to them. The church's ongoing support for the anti-slavery American Missionary Society reinforces that antislavery preaching was routine, not occasional. Regional support for ending slavery also grew after Maine native Hannibal Hamlin became Lincoln's vice president—together showing a congregation firmly engaged in the abolitionist cause.

The Unearth a Story Summer Speaker Series will feature four speakers from throughout the state. Each presentation will focus on stories and history from Maine during the time of the American Revolution. The fourth and final event of the series will be on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Harbor Theater. Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, tribal ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseets, will present “The Watertown Treaty of 1776: A Wabanaki Perspective,” and will explain the significance of the Watertown Treaty, the first international treaty signed by United States.

The series is made possible through grant funding from the Maine State Library and through partnership with the American Legion Post #36, Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, Harbor Theater, and the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information about this summer speaker series, please visit bbhlibrary.org/unearth-a-story.