Portland, Maine 04101 United States
6:30 pm-7:30 pm
The Rubys were prominent antislavery activists and operatives on the Underground Railroad. The Gordons were well-to-do ship masters: among them, the most notorious American slave captain of the century: Nathaniel Gordon III. Their lives—as activists, traders, slave captains, prospectors, and politicians—took them to New York, California, Texas, Louisiana, Africa, Haiti, and Brazil. Their experiences offer a surprising portrait of life in the “Free North” when slavery enthralled the nation. This program is offered in partnership with the Abyssinian Meeting House. About the presenter: Carol Gardner is the author of two narrative histories: The Involuntary American: A Scottish Prisoner’s Journey to the New World (2019), and The Divided North: Black & White Families in the Age of Slavery (2025). She earned a Ph.D. in English from The Johns Hopkins University and has published in various periodicals including The Washington Post, The Women’s Review of Books, and the Portland Press Herald. She lives in Alna, Maine.
Free & open to the public. Registration is kindly requested.