The Fire Of Freedom

Plays

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 7+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

Abraham H. Galloway (1837-1870) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist, and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. Throughout his brief, mercurial life, Galloway fought against slavery and injustice. He risked his life behind enemy lines, recruited black soldiers for the North, and fought racism in the Union army’s ranks. He also stood at the forefront of an African-American political movement, even leading a historic delegation of black southerners to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and to demand the full rights of citizenship. He later became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature. Long hidden from history, Galloway’s story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us. This riveting portrait, based on the book of the same name by David Cecelski and adapted by playwright Howard Craft, illuminates Galloway’s life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the South.

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