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Community Celebrations: Quock Walker Day/Massachusetts Emancipation Day

On July 8, Massachusetts celebrates Quock Walker Day, also known as Massachusetts Emancipation Day.

Reese Oxner

Jul 3, 2024 — 3 min read

On July 8, Massachusetts celebrates Massachusetts Emancipation Day, also known as Quock Walker Day. The act designating this holiday was signed by Governor Charlie Baker on November 1, 2022.

Mr. Walker was an audacious freedom seeker who self-emancipated in April 1781 by walking from enslavement on one farm in Barre to employment on another farm in the same town. His former enslaver assaulted Mr. Walker while unsuccessfully trying to re-enslave him. In June 1781, Mr. Walker was deemed to be a ‘freeman’ by a Worcester County jury and was awarded 50 pounds in a civil case. In 1783, Robert Treat Paine, Massachusetts’ first Attorney General, prosecuted the associated criminal case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Chief Justice William Cushing noted that by the guilty verdict in this case, “Slavery in Massachusetts was forever abolished.” Massachusetts was the first state to commit such a ruling.

As a member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Continental Congress, Mr. Paine cast a vote for liberty on July 4, 1776. Later, Mr. Paine was a delegate to the constitutional convention and member of the committee that drafted the Massachusetts state constitution that was adopted in 1780. The court’s interpretation of Article 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution allowed all people in Massachusetts (and Maine) to enjoy their natural rights.

Article 1 of Massachusetts Constitution - 1780

“All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”;

This year we celebrate the Black Patriots of the Revolutionary War who made the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Massachusetts Constitution possible. And we honor the children and grandchildren of the Quock Walker generation who continued the fight for civil rights up to and beyond the Civil War.

Quock Walker was the son of Ghanaian Akan and Ewe parents, born on a Wednesday. Community celebrations include enjoying Ghanaian jollof rice in and Joe Froggers, a molasses-rum cookie, invented by formerly enslaved entrepreneurs Joseph and Lucretia Brown of Marblehead.

Thanks to public historian Sean D. Osborne of NAACP, Mystic Valley Area Branch and leader of the successful campaign to create Massachusetts Emancipation Day for contributing this background!

Learn More About Quock Walker Day

This list of resources will grow as community members contribute. Send recommendations to hello@burlington.buzz.

In-person and online resources

Page 13 of the legal notes from the Quock Walker case, which includes these words "The preceding case was the one in which by the foregoing charge Slavery in Massachusetts was forever abolished."
More about Quock Walker from Barre MA History

Where to Celebrate Quock Walker Day near Burlington

Below are just a few events happening nearby to celebrate Quock Walker Day. Let us know if you have one you’d like to add, especially ones in town!

On Saturday, July 6 at 8 am, commemorate Quock Walker’s journey from enslavement to employment with the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) 4^th Annual Quock Walker Day Hike for Freedom. This family friendly trail walk of 3.3 Miles begins at Bowman Elementary School, 9 Philip Rd, Lexington, MA 02421. REGISTER
On Saturday, July 6 at 10 am, join The Center for Nonviolent Solutions for Quock Walker Day Walking Tour of Worcester's Peace History. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS FREE EVENT
On Saturday, July 6, from 11am to 2 pm, the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) will host the 4^th Annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration in Lexington Center, near the Visitors Center. This free family event honors Quock Walker and his descendants who continued the fight for freedom and civil rights from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. Come enjoy the colonial games, West African dance workshop, and Caribbean food; learn how to make flax into linen and meet reenactors from The Lexington Minutemen and the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteers. MORE INFORMATION
On Tuesday, July 9, the Red Sox will recognize Quock Walker Day during the pregame festivities at Fenway Park. The Oakland Athletics play the Red Sox at 7:10 PM. PURCHASE TICKETS

How do you observe Quock Walker Day? What resources would help your neighbors and their children and grandchildren learn more about our country’s most recent national holiday? Share your stories with us by emailing

hello@burlington.buzz

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