Salisbury University kicks off Black History Month celebration

SALISBURY, Md. – At Salisbury University, students and staff kicked of their African-American History Month celebration Thursday evening.

Guest speaker Doctor Richard Blackett, a history professor at Vanderbilt University presented “Taking Leave: How Fugitive Slaves Influenced the Debate Over the Future of Slavery.”

Dr. Blackett highlighted how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 paved the way for modern legislation.

During the time, the act rewarded police who arrested runaway slaves and penalized officers that didn’t.

Thursday, Blackett brought to life the accounts of those runaways and how pivotal both documented and undocumented their experiences were to the time period.

Dr. Blackett said, “My aim is to recover the historical record of people who left few records and by their actions, I argue, have a profound effects on the politics of the time.”

You can purchase Blackett’s book, “The Captive’s Quest for Freedom: Fugitive Slaves, the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, and the Politics of Slavery.”
online.