Caroline Quarlls: My Independence Day

Tuesday, April 18  |  6:00pm – 7:00pm  |  Presented by Dr. Shannon Sloan-Spice

Presented in conjunction with the Kenosha Public Library’s Big Read Program.

During this powerful first-person performance, the audience meets Ms. Caroline Quarlls thirty-eight years after she successfully liberated herself from slavery by traveling from St. Louis to Canada via the Underground Railroad. The play begins with Caroline receiving a letter from Lyman Goodnow, one of the people that helped her make the journey in 1842. In the dialog of the play, she recounts the harrowing experiences she and Lyman encountered as they traveled from Waukesha, Wisconsin to Sandwich, Ontario. The script is based on Caroline’s letters which are held as part of the Civil War Museum’s permanent collection.