Mike Wiley: The Fire of Freedom
Friday, March 3, 2023
7:30pm
Abraham H. Galloway (1837-1870) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist, and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. He risked his life behind enemy lines, recruited black soldiers for the North, and fought racism in the Union army’s ranks. He stood at the forefront of an African-American political movement, leading a historic delegation of black southerners to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and later became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature. Long hidden from history, Galloway’s story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us.
This riveting portrait, based on the book of the same name by David Cecelski and adapted by playwright Howard Craft, illuminates Galloway’s life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the South.