Inspired by reading Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts by Elise Lemire, the Central Ohio Underground Railroad Study Group visited the Robbins House on July 11^th.

“Our visit to the Robbins House was one of our most enlightening and memorable historical experiences. We had no knowledge of a black community in Concord and their involvement in the antislavery societies and their daily struggles to survive,” remarked Erika Taylor, who arranged a Robbins House tour for the Central Ohio Underground Railroad Study Group. Thirty-eight members of the study group, including some from Tennessee, Florida, and Texas, guided their bus to Concord, MA on July 11^th to visit the Robbins House. Co-President Maria Madison talked about community life for free blacks in Concord in the 1800s, after which members of the group shared and compared some of their own experiences of feeling marginalized from community. “The welcome and depth of history presented by Dr. Madison and her colleagues left us in awe. We are encouraged to learn more and are forever grateful,” reflected Taylor.