As part of the New Directions in African American History series by the Delaware Historical Society, Erica Armstrong Dunbar will discuss her latest book, “Never Caught: The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge,” on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. at the Delaware History Museum. “Never Caught” is the first full-length account of Ona Judge based on the interviews she left behind, which offer what quite possibly may be the only first-person account of an 18th-century fugitive.
Though George and Martha Washington pursued Ona Judge until the end of their lives, Judge remained at large until her death in New Hampshire in 1848, outliving both her owners by almost half a century. Dunbar is the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Black Studies and History at the University of Delaware. Her first book, “A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City” was published in 2008, and she has also been featured in documentary films, most notably, “Philadelphia: The Great Experiment” and “American Experience: The Abolitionists” produced by PBS.
The Delaware Historical Society owns and operates the Delaware History Museum; the Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage; a nationally recognized Research Library; Old Town Hall; Willingtown Square, four 18th century houses surrounding a picturesque urban courtyard located in downtown Wilmington; and the Read House & Gardens located in historic New Castle, a National Historic Landmark. Admission is free, but reservations are requested.
For more information and reservations, call 655-7161 or email deinfo@dehistory.org.
