On September 17, 2026, we launched the Taste of Freedom 2026 Virtual Experience on the 177th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s first attempt to escape slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The National Park Service identifies September 17, 1849 as the date Tubman first fled with her brothers Ben and Henry.
September is also recognized as International Underground Railroad Month, making this an especially meaningful time to explore the people, places, networks, and acts of resistance connected to the struggle for freedom.
That launch date, the month, were all intentional.
Taste of Freedom 2026 brought together historians, authors, researchers, and subject matter experts to explore Maryland’s hidden freedom histories through the people, places, systems, and stories that shaped the American experience.
If you missed the live experience, there are two ways to watch this year's content:
Presentation Title:
What Harriet Left Behind:
Rural Redlining, Rising Seas
and Land Loss on
Maryland’s Eastern Shore
Presentation Title:
The Remarkable Escape of Tilly and Harriet Tubman from Baltimore's Waterfront in 1857.
Presentation Title:
Thomas Smallwood, Courageous Activist and Searing Writer
Presentation Title:
A Teacher in the Fire: Edmonia Highgate and the Battle for Black Education
Presentation Title:
When the Civil War Came to Mobtown: The Pratt Street Riots
Presentation Title:
Harriet Ross Tubman: Freedom's Journey
Presentation Title:
Slavery and Race: The Non-PC Topic
Presentation Title:
Dueling Ideas of Freedom: Slavery Conventions and Freedom Seeking in Baltimore on the Eve of the Civil War
Presentation Title:
The Archaeology of Harriet Tubman's Birthplace
Presentation Title:
The Story of Slavery in the U.S. (An Immersive 3D Virtual Reality Tour of the Whitney Plantation)
Presentation Title:
Where History Lives: Local History and Personal Connection in the Social Studies Classroom
Presentation Title:
The Legacy of Benjamin Banneker, The Paradox of Liberty and the Meaning of Freedom
Presentation Title 1:
The Untold History of Eliza Parker, Belle Vue Farm, and the Christiana Resistance
Presentation Title 2:
A Teacher in the Fire:
Edmonia Highgate and the Battle for Black Education
Presentation Title:
Telling Local History Through the Lens of the Name Harriet (When Tubman Didn't Come To Our County)
Presentation Title:
Unmasking History: Permanence When Stability was Denied
Presentation Title:
Benjamin Banneker:
The Definition of Freedom
Presentation Title:
From Archive to Augmented Reality: Bringing Black Freedom Stories Into Public Space
Presentation Title:
Digital Heritage Preservation Taste of Freedom: Baltimore Mapping The System. A Digital Reconstruction of Slemmer's Alley
Free Access Through December 31, 2026.
Taste of Freedom 2026 connects historical truth to present-day reality.





















Virtual Reality Collaboration Lab (VRCOLAB)
aaron@vrcamstudios.com
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