Honoring Anthony Cohen

Join the Fredericksburg Area Museum and the City of Fredericksburg for a meaningful community event recognizing the powerful work of Anthony Cohen. His project retraces the routes of freedom seekers and brings history to life through immersive storytelling and scholarship.  See more details on his work below.

Event Highlights

• Remarks from Anthony Cohen

• Presentations by distinguished local speakers

• Reflections on Harriet Tubman’s legacy and the Underground Railroad

• Display of Harriet Tubman “The Journey to Freedom” Statue

Free and open to the public. All are welcome!

ABOUT: 30 YEARS LATER, HISTORIAN WILL REVISIT TUBMAN’S FOOTSTEPS

ANTHONY COHEN TO TRAVEL FROM MARYLAND TO CANADA ALONG THE PATH OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

When Anthony Michael Cohen of Germantown, Md., started walking from Maryland to Canada in 1996 in search of traces of Harriett Tubman’s Underground Railroad, he was a 32-year-old graduate student with a backpack and some extra time on his hands. By the time he finished, he wound up on Oprah and discovered his lifelong career.

Announcing plans to make the trek again in 2026, Cohen is now a 62-year-old established historian with a message to the nation on its 250th birthday: “Let’s take pride in all the great moments of our past as we look forward to our collective future.”

The 750-mile pilgrimage, titled #FreedomWalk2026, will begin May 4 at the Sandy Spring Slave Museum. Cohen plans to cross through Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York before ending in Toronto, Canada on July 4, 2026.