Presented by Omope Carter Daboiku

Originally written by Omope in 2003 for Cincinnati’s first Tall Stacks Riverboat Festival, “Samantha Dew: Free Woman of Color” is now a prerecorded performance that illustrates the empowerment of free people of color as negotiators of their own fate. Samantha, a migrant from northern Georgia and a descendant of “masters,” is sent to Cincinnati to attend Lane Seminary and expected to return to start a school. Having signed her papers as SE Dew, the faculty is not aware the applicant is female. The rest of the story unfolds as she marries, starts her own business, buys property and becomes involved in the abolition movement as a Conductor on the Underground Railroad!

Grades: 6 – 12
Length: 19 minutes

To book this exploration: