The Brookline Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Relations released a new 10-minute educational video, “Hidden Brookline: A Historical Tour of Slavery and Freedom,” which uncovers the rarely told stories of enslaved people who lived in Brookline and the residents who sought freedom centuries ago.
The film, narrated by historian Dr. Barbara Brown, founder of Hidden Brookline, and Malcolm Cawthorne, Brookline High School history teacher and METCO director, takes viewers inside Brookline Town Hall to search for evidence of slavery and the struggle for freedom hidden in plain sight. They connect the stories of three men enslaved by local landowners to the present through a reflection on a sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Brookline artist John Wilson, which stands in Town Hall as a symbol of resilience and justice.
The video is based on the first stop of Barbara Brown’s 90-minute walking tour, offered since 2006, which highlights the hidden history of enslaved people of African descent who lived and worked in Brookline, and the town’s connections to slavery and the abolitionist movement.
Brown and Cawthorne said the video encourages viewers to connect emotionally with the people behind historical events. They hope the stories reveal the courage and humanity of those who lived through slavery and fought for freedom, making the past feel both real and relevant today.
Brown created the video to make accurate, inclusive stories more widely accessible to the public amid national debates over how history is presented in schools and museums. She hopes educators will use the video in social studies and English language arts classes, grades five and up, to help students connect history to current discussions about equity and community.
Brookline High School’s social studies department head, Jennifer Martin, endorses the video as a preservation of important history. Brookline High School history teacher Laura Honeywood, who brought her students on the walking tour in 2024, said the experience brought the past to life in powerful ways. “Rather than simply reading about the history of slavery, resistance, and liberation in the world, they got to experience the effects of it on the streets that they pass every day,” she said. “Hidden Brookline layers a historical understanding with their own lives, realities, and present.”
The Brookline Community Foundation provided funding for the video, and Brookline Interactive Group produced the project. The Hidden Brookline walking tour is offered to groups of five or more by request. Contact Barbara Brown at bbbrown@bu.edu to learn more, or visit Hidden Brookline.