You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.

Ben Franklin's World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.

Hello and welcome to Ben Franklin's World Revisited, a series of classic episodes to bring

fresh perspective to our latest episodes and had deeper connections to our understanding

of early American history.

And I'm your host, Liz Covart.

What would you risk for freedom?

Your safety, your family, your life?

During the American Revolution, enslaved women faced these impossible choices

when the British Army promised freedom to those who dared to escape.

In honor of Black History Month, we're revisiting an extraordinary chapter of resilience and bravery,

the stories of enslaved women who seize the chance to chart their own destinies amid the chaos of war.

The British proclamations of 1775 and 1779 offered freedom to enslaved individuals who crossed

into British lines. But what did that promise of freedom really mean? How did these women make

their escapes and what awaited them when they reached British camps?

We'll investigate answers to these questions as we revisit our conversation with Bowie State historian Karen Cook-Bell, author of Running from Bondage,

enslaved women in the remarkable fight for freedom in Revolutionary America.

Now, during our investigation of enslaved women who

self-mancipated during the American Revolution, Karen reveals the unique challenges and

strategies enslaved women used to flee bondage, why these women's stories differ from those of

runaway men, and the historical records that shed light on their daring bids for freedom.

This is a story of defiance

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