Tony Cohen’s Walk to Freedom
In 1996 filmmaker and historian Anthony Cohen and a Howard undergraduate student traced the underground railroad routes from the South all the way up to Canada, on foot, just as their ancestors had done. Beginning in Sandy Spring, MD, Cohen traveled nearly 1,500 miles to his destination in Amherstburg, Ontario. Along the way Cohen searched for the remains of mansions, shacks and other hideaways that once provided shelter to those in need along the Underground Railroad. In 1998 Cohen embarked on a second journey, this time tracing routes from Mobile, AL to Windsor, Ontario. In 2026, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the initial journey, Cohen has again taken to the road to remind all of us of the importance of this history.
The film footage that Cohen took in 1996 and 1998, which was intended to be used for a documentary, represents primary documentation of historic sites (many of which no longer exist) and has been digitized and preserved by the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It will be screened and shared with the audience as Cohen discusses his experiences on the Underground Railroad.
About the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor:
The Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor is a nationally and internationally recognized Buffalo neighborhood that serves as the focal point of residents’ and visitors’ experiences for learning about Buffalo’s rich African American history through its vibrant neighborhoods, shops, restaurants, unique structures, historical markers, people and institutions, as well as its significant impact on local, national and international history. As an advocate for the community, the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission endeavors to integrate African American cultural significance and impact on Buffalo’s history through public engagement, community education that will invigorate, inspire and enliven cultural appreciation, preservation and community development.
About the SI-NMAAHC Smith Center:
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (SI-NMAAHC) Robert Frederick Smith (RFS) Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History uses an innovative approach to technology to preserve African American history, through four related initiatives: the Explore Your Family History Center (FHC), the Community Curation Program (CCP), the Great Migration Home Movie Project (GMHMP), and the Internships and Fellowships Program (IFP). Through each component, the Museum seeks to expand access to African American history and cultivate broad interest in America’s Black past, genealogy, and culture. Through the Community Curation Program, the Smith Center collaborates with cultural heritage sites, libraries, archives, historical societies, and HBCUs to preserve historical materials and make them more accessible, supporting these institutions’ sustainability and demonstrating their relevance to a broader and deeper understanding of human experience. We seek out community-based archives and work with them to create digital spaces and resources that tell the stories of historically Black neighborhoods and institutional anchors such as churches, schools, and Black-owned businesses, to facilitate inspiring, social justice-centered educational experiences for museum audiences. Ongoing digitization, preservation and education projects and relationships with both rural and urban African American communities amplify the experiences and perspectives of groups that have been underrepresented in museums, not only in terms of documenting and narrating the stories of institutions, communities, and individuals of people of African descent, but also as professionals working in museum spaces, so that descendant communities can impactfully and thoughtfully engage with their own histories.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3649544-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3649544-2
