An Illusion of Freedom: Boston and the Fugitive Slave Laws

Open from February 27th through June 1st of 2025.

This exhibit explores the documentary history of the legalization of slavery in the United States, and the creation of federal laws prioritizing the rights of slaveholders over basic human rights. Focused on the period from the 1830s to 1850s, the exhibit explains how brave Bostonians from the Black community on Beacon Hill and abolitionist organizations defied the Fugitive Slave Laws in order to help escaped enslaved people defend their freedom.

Visitors will learn the stories of former enslaved people, such as Anthony Burns, Ellen and William Craft, and Thomas Sims, who fled captivity and found freedom in Boston, only to be pursued by former enslavers and their agents set on returning them to servitude. The exhibit also features rare artifacts, on loan from Revolutionary Spaces, most notably the handcuffs used to bind Anthony Burns after his capture by slave catchers, and a club used by activists from Boston’s Black community during the failed rescue attempt of Burns.