A statue of Elizabeth Freeman on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Slavery and Freedom exhibition.
“She’s clearly a hidden figure in American history, and I really believe Black history is American history,” said Pignatelli, a Democrat. “But unfortunately, Black history is what we haven’t been told and taught.”And what she heard did not make sense. It is believed that Bett, after hearing a public reading of the constitution, walked roughly five miles from the Ashley household to the home of attorney Theodore Sedgwick, one of the citizens who drafted the Sheffield Resolves, and asked him to represent her in her legal quest for freedom, said Paul O’Brien, president of the Sheffield Historical Society.Women had limited legal rights in Massachusetts courts at the time, so a male slave in the Ashley household named Brom was added to the case.
He brought together stakeholders and raised about $280,000, enough money for the roughly 8-foot statue, as well as a scholarship fund in Freeman's honor for area high school students.Gwendolyn VanSant, the CEO of BRIDGE, an area nonprofit that fosters racial understanding and equity, is overseeing the scholarships.
She was a healer, a nurse and a midwife, who bought her own property in nearby Stockbridge, VanSant said.