Mabry-Hazen House Celebrates Emancipation Day on August 8th!
Join us to Hear stories of historic emancipation and triumph from struggle in the lives of the enslaved at Mabry-Hazen House!
Tours are FREE but limited to 24 visitors per session. Donations are appreciated.
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Tours offered at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm
Join us to celebrate the Eighth of August, Tennessee's Emancipation Day!
Mabry-Hazen House will share stories, objects, and research related to the historic house museum, local enslaved communities, and their stories of emancipation. Visitors will learn about the lives of African-Americans connected to Mabry-Hazen House, their achievements and struggles, and the various methods they used to gain freedom. From self-liberation to the 13th Amendment, “..And Then I Became Free: Stories of Emancipation at Mabry-Hazen House” explores the different methods enslaved people broke down the oppressive institution of American chattel slavery and fought to gain personal liberty.
The museum will offer three tours at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Admission is free, but tours are limited to 24 (twenty-four) visitors per tour. Reservations are encouraged and donations are appreciated. Walk-up tickets will be available, but not guaranteed.
The Eighth of August, also called Emancipation Day in Tennessee, commemorates a new birth of freedom in the state. While the origins of the date are a mixture of folklore and fact, it was on this day in 1863 that Andrew Johnson freed his slaves, personally initiating a move many enslaved Tennesseans had already chosen with their feet. As the Union Army conquered the majority of the state in 1862, it was seen by enslaved people as an army of liberation, offering freedom and liberty from their bondage. But it was in the years after the Civil War, when African-American communities across East Tennessee and western Kentucky celebrated their hard-won liberty, that the Eighth of August gained its significance. The Eighth of August is for for Black Tennesseans, a day of jubilee with picnics, speeches, games, and dances.
The stories of people such as Wiley Mabry offer a celebratory yet sobering tale of the lengths enslaved African-Americans took to obtain their freedom. Only fragments exist from Wiley's life, yet an 1872 Southern Claims Commission report reveals a fascinating and powerful detail about him: Wiley Mabry bought himself.
Learn more about the fascinating life and story of Wiley and others during our tour and the research challenges and processes we use to discover and sketch out their journeys to freedom.