John Jay Homestead Series Lecture with Hon. Albert Rosenblatt author of THE EIGHT

January 23, 2024 @ 6:30pm - 8:30pm

The Hon. Albert Rosenblatt, The Eight: The Lemmon Slave Case and the Fight for Freedom

In 1852 a Virginia couple traveling to Texas bring their family, including eight enslaved, through New York. Slavery is legal in Virginia and Texas but has been abolished in New York. Abolitionists, including Louis Napoleon, John Jay II and Erastus Culver, were instrumental in the legal battle to win freedom for the eight enslaved. The case follows a slow path through New York courts, in the era of the Dred Scott case of 1857 and against the background of the Fugitive Slave clause of the Constitution. But the Eight are freed in 1860. Currently a Judicial Fellow at NYU Law School, Judge Rosenblatt was a long-serving New York state judge, ending his career on the highest court, the Court of Appeals.

This lecture will be held at Bedford Playhouse (633 Old Post Rd, Bedford, NY) due to ongoing construction at John Jay Homestead.

6:30 – Reception with light refreshments
7:00 – Lecture begins
8:00 – Book signing

Please check back soon for tickets.

Event Details