The St. Michaels Community Center (SMCC) invites the community to a discussion of the Bear Me Into Freedom Project, led by Jeff McGuiness, on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Center, 103 Railroad Avenue, St. Michaels, MD. Admission is free, and seats may be reserved by emailing Boardsecretary@stmichaelscc.
The Bear Me Into Freedom Project is a collaboration of more than 100 Talbot County residents to promote the legacy of the county’s most famous citizen and one of the most influential figures in American history, Frederick Douglass. Harriette Lowery and other Project team members will join the program with McGuiness.
The project’s first venture, Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass, is a stunning 264-page photobook that presents Douglass’ transformation from bondage to freedom by illustrating passages from the three autobiographies he wrote that detail his experiences in Talbot County. Bear Me Into Freedom is the first attempt to marry imagery with Douglass’s words to picture what Talbot County may have looked like when Frederick Douglass lived there two centuries ago.
McGuiness wrote, “Talbot County is where [Douglass] shook off … bondage to create a philosophy and narrative that became a transformative force in nineteenth-century America, a call for freedom and justice.” He continued, “The written word cannot fully capture Talbot County’s unique geographic and social characteristics that played a pivotal role in Douglass’ transformation.”
Douglass’ experiences in Talbot County were central to his rise as one of the most celebrated leaders, writers, and orators in the English-speaking world during the nineteenth century. He was a crusader in the fight to abolish enslavement, establish emancipation, and promote social justice, culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Amendments to the Constitution after the Civil War.
McGuiness will also share a new project that is still in development, an exhibition using the book’s photographs to showcase Douglass’ legacy as part of Maryland’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Entitled Bear Me Into Freedom: The Chesapeake Odyssey of Frederick Douglass, the installation uses cutting-edge technology to create an immersive effect that envelops viewers with sound, imagery, and Douglass’s words. The narration brings his timeless messages into the present, linking them to the objectives outlined in the nation’s founding document. The exhibition will open in museums and other venues in Talbot County and Baltimore City in July 2026 as part of Maryland’s Semi quincentennial Celebration.
About Jeff McGuiness
Jeff McGuiness is a photographer and writer who has lived in St. Michaels for 25 years. Art, boating, and history have been Jeff’s lifelong fascinations. He served as an U.S. Air Force photographer during the Vietnam War, practiced law for more than four decades in Washington, DC (concentrating on public policy and managing nonprofit organizations) and, in 2016, founded Bay Photographic Works in 2016 to house his creative projects.
About St. Michaels Community Center (SMCC)
The St. Michaels Community Center serves, empowers, and connects the residents of St. Michaels, the Bay Hundred area, and Talbot County. SMCC enhances the quality of life and serves the needs of our community through programs that enrich the lives of children, teens, seniors, and families; and recreational, social, and educational activities for residents of all ages regardless of ethnicity, gender, or economic status.
The center’s newly renovated building is located at 103 Railroad Avenue in St. Michaels; information about the Center’s work can be found online at http://www.stmichaelscc.org.
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