by Marjorie Lightman, Ph.D. and Jackie L. Williams, Ph.D.
The Pearl Escape Project celebrates the 177th anniversary of the Pearl Escape of 1848 on Tuesday, April 15th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event will take place at Westminster Church and the Southwest Waterfront at The Wharf. This annual event celebrates the historic escape to freedom of slavery of 77 African American men, women, and children from the Washington, DC Waterfront on a wooden schooner called the Pearl.
Join the Second Line procession, beginning at the corner of 4th and I Street SW to 7th and I Street SW to the end of The Wharf’s Recreation Pier. Along the way, imagine the former site of the Southwest DC Notley Plantation of the late 1700’s where two hundred enslaved families resided. At 7th and I Streets, pause and look north toward the National Mall’s former site of the Yellow Slave Pen at 7th Street and Independence. At this site, a historic marker tells the story of Solomon Northrup, the author of 12 Years a Slave.
As the Second Line procession continues toward the river, pass by the historic Riverside Baptist Church at 7th Street and Maine Avenue to the end of The Wharf’s Recreation Pier. At this pier, pause for the calling of the names of the Pearl schooner’s 77 African American men, women, and children and pouring of libations.
The Civil War was still 13 years away when 77 people in pursuit of freedom joined the Pearl expedition. They were men, women, and children, some traveling alone and others with family members. All had hopes and dreams for a future where their inalienable rights, abrogated by unjust human laws, would be protected and would no longer be defined as property. They were also part of a community in Washington, DC with growing institutions and a uniquely African American culture. By the 1840s there were churches,boarding houses, taverns, and businesses owned and run by free African Americans.
In 1848 when the Pearl sailed from the 7th Street Wharf, DC was a slave city. African Americans constituted about one-third of the population in Washington, DC and as in many other towns and cities, an increasingly large percentage were free.
The people who joined the Pearl were special. They saw no other way than escape to the north to live their lives. They rejected being enslaved and they had exhausted all their available means to free themselves. They each had a story.
Featured speaker for the event is Dr. Clarence Lusane, Professor of Political Science at Howard University and author of the book Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy.Dr. Lusane will lead a discussion with Howard University graduate students in exploring the contemporary relevance of the Pearl story.
This event is free and open to the public.
The Pearl Escape Project is made up of Southwest DC community residents initially assembled by Vyllorya Evans and Rev. Ruth Hamilton of Westminster Church to renew interest in the story of “The Pearl” and its powerful meaning for today. The Project honors the long-standing work of “The Pearl Coalition” led by David Smith, grandson of founder Lloyd Smith. Community members of The Pearl Project include: Patricia Bishop, Vania Georgieva, Rev. Brian Hamilton, Edwin B. Henderson, Audrey Hinton, Jonathan Holley, II, Dr. Marjorie Lightman, Jean Shulman, Dr. Sheila S. Walker, Georgine Wallace, Kenneth Ward, Dr. Christopher Williams,
and Dr. Jackie L. Williams.
More information about this event contact, Rev. Brian E. Hamilton at (202) 641-8221 or
