Tony Cohen's Walk To Freedom: Film Screening and Conversation

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.