Stories of Flight from Maryland Exhibit

This exhibit was created and designed between 2010 and 2011 in part to meet matching requirements of a U.S. Department of Education Office of Post Secondary Education Grant to study the Underground Railroad in five counties of Maryland's Eastern Shore, including Dorchester, Caroline, Queen Anne's, Talbot and Kent. The five panel traveling exhibit will be displayed in various historical institutions throughout Maryland. This online version of the exhibit seeks to provide a gateway into more detailed research materials available at the Maryland State Archives. It also hopes to reflect the width and breadth of a ten year project which has thus far uncovered the lives of more than a hundred thousand Blacks and Whites who struggled with an institution that was both immensely profitable and morally reprehensible. For a more expansive review of this study, please visit the Beneath The Underground Railroad: The Flight to Freedom website at http://www.mdslavery.net/ugrr.html.

African American Research at The Maryland State Archives

The Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland Program seeks to preserve and promote the vast universe of experiences that have shaped the lives of Maryland's African American population. From the day that Mathias de Sousa and Francisco landed in St. Mary's county aboard the Ark and the Dove in 1634, Black Marylanders have made significant contributions to both the state and nation in the political, economic, agricultural, legal, and domestic arenas. Despite what often seemed like insurmountable odds, Marylanders of Color have adapted, evolved, and prevailed. The Maryland State Archives' Study of the Legacy of Slavery Staff invites researchers to explore all of these elements and more within its numerous source documents, exhibits and interactive online presentations.

African Americans in Maryland, African American Resources and Freedom Records of Prince George's County list the multiple primary and secondary source materials housed at the Maryland State Archives for study. These finding aids catalog various series of slavery related records such as Certificates of Freedom and Manumissions.

Documents in the Classroom are online packets of topically arranged materials designed specifically for use by teachers and students. The references contained in the packets provide a basis of study on a particular aspect of African American life such as the Civil War, In the Aftermath of Glory, and the post civil war struggle to fully realize equal citizenship, From Segregation to Integration.