Juneteenth ‘A Journey of Freedom’ at the Highland Arts Center
Join us at the Highland Arts Center (2875 Hardwick Street, Greensboro, VT) in welcoming
A Journey of Freedom
Songs of Slavery and Emancipation
A Journey of Freedom began with the discovery of a song composed by enslaved people planning a revolt in 1813, and has grown to a songbook of works that has not been heard for more than a hundred years.
Performed by the Jubalo Singers of Kentucky, led by acclaimed conductor Dr. Kathy Bullock and musician Mat Callahan, this powerful program brings to life the voices of enslaved people and abolitionists. placing them in proper historical context and making them available again to the public.
While the existence of slave songs is well known, their character is often misunderstood. Slave songs were not only lamentations of suffering or distractions, some songs called for liberty and revolution, celebrating such heroes as Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner.
Once widely sung and now largely forgotten, these songs carry a clear and urgent message: the abolition of slavery and a demand for freedom, equality, and justice for all.
A Journey of Freedom: Songs of Slavery and Emancipation is part of a multi-state concert tour and musical pilgrimage retracing the paths of the Underground Railroad through performance, scholarship, and song and ending in Greensboro, VT.
The tour celebrates America’s 250th anniversary, inviting audiences to reexamine the nation’s founding ideals through the authentic voices of those who fought for freedom. Thank you to the Vermont Humanities Council for making The Journey of Freedom project possible.