Archaeologists have the unlikely job of saving the lives of people who have passed. For a generation or more, freedom-seeking people built lives in hamlets from the Manatee River to Sarasota Bay. Angola, as the early 19th century maroon community is known, was a haven of liberty from slavery and its inhabitants numbered in the hundreds until the community was destroyed in 1821, with survivors escaping to the Florida interior or the British Bahamas. The National Park Service recognizes the archaeological findings in east Bradenton as evidence for their Network to Freedom, the Underground Railroad. Working with local and descendant communities, historical archaeological research has pieced together fragments from ceramic sherds, glass fragments, oyster shells, and more of their belongings. From Legend to History traces the research process, shows the archaeological and archival evidence, and seeks to inspire hope from unsettled times.
To visit: The Ringling’s Community Gallery is always free and open to the public. The public exhibition space is located on the ground floor of the museum’s Center for Asian Art. If you wish to visit the Community Gallery please ask for a free wristband at the Visitors Pavilion upon your arrival at The Ringling.
The Community Gallery is generously funded by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
