Bear Me Into Freedom: Frederick Douglass and the Struggle for America’s Promise

July 11-13, 16- 20 | Screenings at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm | Museum Admission

As the nation reflects on its 250th anniversary, join the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in July for multiple screenings of Bear Me Into Freedom: Frederick Douglass and the Struggle for America’s Promise. Bear Me Into Freedom tells the story of the Civil Rights Leader’s journey from abject poverty and enslavement to becoming a transformational figure whose fiery oratory and compelling words advanced America towards the fulfillment of its founding ideals.

Bear Me Into Freedom portrays the odyssey of Frederick Douglass—his birth and enslavement in Talbot County, Maryland, his life’s work championing abolition, emancipation, and equal rights throughout the United States, and his triumphal return to the place of his birth in the last decades of his life as one of the most consequential figures of the 19th century. His fiery oratory and compelling prose advanced America towards the promises contained in the Declaration of Independence, including the concept that “all men are created equal.”

Bear Me Into Freedom is an hour-long tribute to the life of Frederick Douglass, his experience on the Eastern Shore that gave rise to the most powerful slave narrative in American literature, and his contribution to the transformation of America’s social policy.

This panoramic video installation incorporating leading edge technology invites the viewer to walk beside Frederick Douglass, not as a spectator, but a companion.

Bear Me Into Freedom was developed by the Bear Me Into Freedom Collaborative to support Maryland’s 250 observance.

Bear Me Into Freedom Official Trailer

Saturday, July 18 | 1 pm – 3 pm | Museum Admission

Bear Me Into Freedom Film Showing & Special Conversation

To learn more about the creation of the video installation and the project’s background, join us in a special conversation featuring the Bear Me Into Freedom creative team. Featured panel participants include:

  • Harriette Lowery (Frederick Douglass Honor Society co-founder)
  • Jeff McGuiness (Writer and photographer)
  • Lance Morris (Narrator)

To purchase tickets for the 1 pm screening and talk, Click Here