Botany, From Slavery to Freedom: Gallery Talk

As they traveled north, freedom seekers used all they knew of the land as they crossed the Cumberland, Allegheny, and Blue Ridge Mountains. They had to avoid slave hunters, find food and shelter, and face harsh climate and terrain. They foraged wild plants for food and medicine -- remedies of their own making that addressed a myriad of ailments. 

On exhibit at the Frick Environmental Center are botanical illustrations of a few of the plants that were used during enslavement and during the journey to freedom. These trees provide an understanding of how enslaved and freedom seekers used large plants for survival. The From Slavery to Freedom Garden at the Frick Environmental Center as well as the surrounding landscape of Frick Park contain some of these trees.

Learn more by joining librarian, Charlotte Tancin, from the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and Samuel W. Black, Director of African American Programs at the Heinz History Center for an engaging talk centered around the Frick Environmental Center's current art exhibit, "Botany: From Slavery to Freedom".

This exhibition is supported by the Roy A. Hunt Foundation. Images on view courtesy of Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.

These prints are chosen for their relation to the Heinz History Center's exhibit, "From Slavery to Freedom" and the related "From Slavery to Freedom Garden" at the Frick Environmental Center