Journey to Freedom Mural

Journey to Freedom Mural. . , The Journey to Freedom mural vividly dramatizes the self-emancipation of enslaved individuals and the bravery of those who risked everything to help them. It highlights the courage and compassion of those involved in the Underground Railroad, transcending history to represent broader humanitarian themes of freedom, justice and allyship. While Harriet Tubman remains the iconic face of the Underground Railroad and and Freedom Seekers Movement, this masterful mural of remembrance highlights local Leesburg heroes like Bazil Newman and rev. Leonard Grimes, who played key roles in aiding the escape of African Americans from slavery in Loudoun County. This mural also commemorates the daring 1855 Christmas Eve escape of Frank Wanzer and five other enslaved individuals who escaped slavery from neighboring plantations, risking their lives for a chance for freedom., Frank Wanzer, born into slavery in 1830, successfully escaped slavery in 1855, navigating through great peril with his fiancée Emily Foster, Barnaby Grigsby and his fiancée Mary Elizebeth and two other male companions from nearby plantations in Aldie and Middleburg. Despite one companion being shot and another companion being captured. The Wanzer and Grigsby families reached Pennsylvania and eventually settled in Canada, where they began new lives. Their story became known after William Still recounted it in his 1872 book The Underground Railroad Records covering the stories of the Underground Railroad., Bazil Newman, born free in 1779, became one of the wealthiest African Americans in Loudoun County. In addition to being one of Loudoun's largest landowners, Newman established a ferrying business, owning a fleet of boats that ranged from ferry boats to row boats. Newman owned a shipping business, farm, nearby gristmill, and a storage warehouse at Edwards Ferry (the confluence of Goose Creek and the Potomac river), making him a key influential figure in Loudoun. Although historical records are limited, Newman was suspected of being an Underground Railroad agent, using his ferry boat and working knowledge of waterway routes to assist those fleeing slavery. His involvement in aiding the enslaved escape to freedom is depicted in the mural, which includes the 1853 Yardley-Taylor map, showing these crucial waterways., Rev. Leonard Andrew Grimes (1815-1973), born to free parents, was a pastor, political organizer, carriage driver and covert operative for the Underground Railroad. Rev. Grimes dedicated his life to the abolitionist cause after being imprisoned for two years for helping a fugitive enslaved family escape to freedom. His activism continued in Boston, where he became a central figure in the fight for freedom and the abolition of slavery., [Captions:] , Genius of Liberty, 1830 Bazil Newman placed ads in the paper himself, an extremely uncommon practice for Black entrepreneurs at the time., A drawing of the encounter at Hood's Mill, later published in William Still's The Underground Railroad Records book., Leonard A. Grimes , Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising (Cleveland OH: G. M. Rewell and Co., 1887), 664., [Sidebar:] , Created in collaboration with local advocates, historians, and artists including Loudoun County native Carmen Felder, NFL legend Santana Moss, 89 Ways to Give Foundation, local historian Pastor Michelle c. Thomas, artist Shawn Perkins, NAACP Loudoun Branch, Loudoun Freedom Center's Remembrance and Reconciliation Initiative, Visit Loudoun, and the Town of Leesburg, the Journey To Freedom mural honors Loudoun's unsung African American heroes, blending their stories with universal themes of resistance, compassion, and the undying quest for freedom and justice.