The new Elizabeth Freeman statue was unveiled today in Sheffield, Massachusetts in the Berkshires. Freeman was an enslaved Black woman who sued in 1783 to end her enslavement by having her ownership by a white man declared unconstitutional. The Massachusetts Constitution stated that “All men are born free and equal.” Her lawyer, a local Sheffield attorney named Theodore Sedgwick, took the case to the state’s Supreme Court which found that Freeman’s enslavement violated the Constitution.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick spoke at the ceremony today praising the organizers for “lifting up [the] Berkshires’ Black side.” He added; “It turns out Black people have always been here, What a shame that so few of us truly appreciate that … that so little of our history is taught. Black people have always been part of the American story….None of our ideals mean a thing unless someone, somewhere stands up and gives them meaning,”
For more on Elizabeth Freeman.
Note: Feature photo from the Berkshire Eagle.
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