It’s no secret that New Bedford played a critical role in the Underground Railroad in the years leading up to the Civil War.
New Bedford Historical Society President Lee Blake and UMass Dartmouth history professor Timothy Dale Walker have done important new research fleshing out just how critical the city’s role was, both in the leaders who thought and worked here, and the city’s role as a major port where formerly enslaved people came.
Blake’s work on New Bedford’s leadership during the abolition movement has led the way for the soon-to-be-opened Abolition Row Park and Walker’s work on the study and exhibit Sailing to Freedom has shed new light on the large role maritime escape to ports like New Bedford played.
Blake and Walker joined New Bedford Light columnist Jack Spillane for the latest episode of The Chat. Watch their fascinating and illuminating conversation.
Watch The Chat and meet the seven candidates for the Ward 3 city council primary
Join longtime New Bedford political writer Jack Spillane as he interviews the candidates during a special edition of The Chat on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.
Watch: Mayor Paul Heroux takes his sheriff’s campaign to The Chat
Both candidates were invited to participate in The Chat for a conversation about issues and ideas related to managing Bristol County’s correctional facilities. Heroux accepted our invitation; Hodgson accepted then later declined.
Watch The Chat: Should the undocumented immigrants driver’s license law be repealed?
The Chat examines the effort to repeal the law that grants driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.