"Remember the Pearl” Walk to the Southwest Wharf

Corner of 4th and I Streets SW (by Westminster Church, 400 I Street SW, Washington, DC)

The public is invited to gather at the corner of 4th and I Streets SW (by Westminster Church, 400 I Street SW) to begin a “Remember the Pearl” Walk to the SW Wharf. It was on the same night in 1848 that 77 men, women, and children, enslaved by prominent families in the District of Columbia, made their way to the river, boarded a schooner called “The Pearl” and began a heroic and historic bid for freedom. Though the coordinated effort failed, due mostly to bad weather on the Chesapeake, their burning desire for freedom still inspires and instructs today.

This annual season of commemoration in SW will include a colorful History Tent located by the SW Market at 4th and M. It will include 16 art panels to bring the Pearl story, its context, and other hidden histories to light. The walk will conclude on the public pier with the flame at the SW Wharf with remarks from you and a presentation of a wreath made by the SW Sea Scouts of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. A flotilla of boats will symbolically head toward freedom.