Ellen Garrison: Scenes from an Activist’s Life
June 8, 2024 - 3-5PM
Theater 144, 40 Stow Street, Concord
The Umbrella Arts Center is proud to present the world premiere screening of the Half the History film, Ellen Garrison: Scenes from an Activist’s Life, filmed in Concord by Five Sisters Productions. Part of the Town of Concord semiquincentennial celebration, the screening is co-presented by The Umbrella Arts Center, Concord 250, The Robbins House, and the Tufts University Half the History Project.
Free, open to everyone, and suitable for all ages.
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Ellen Garrison: A Brief History
Ellen Garrison was born in Concord daughter of a self-emancipated man Jack Garrison and granddaughter of the formerly enslaved man and revolutionary soldier Caesar Robbins.
Ellen’s mother Susan was a founding member of the Concord Female Antislavery Society and actively involved in the struggle for securing rights for all people.
Ellen continued her mother’s legacy of antislavery activism. She worked as a teacher in the Freedman’s Schools and served as a powerful activist around local and national questions demanding civil rights for all people. Her work on the long struggle took her from Concord to Boston, Rhode Island, Maryland, Kansas and finally Pasadena, California where she rests.
On Friday April 14, 2023, the 200th anniversary of Ellen’s birth, The Town Concord celebrated “Ellen Garrison Day” to mark the first official Concord 250 event, kicking off the countdown to the semiquincentennial celebrations of the American Revolution.
