PRESS RELEASE- For Release 6/5/2025
Media Contact: Natalie Oslund
natalie.oslund@archives.alabama.gov
(334) 353-1881
FOOD FOR THOUGHT LUNCHTIME LECTURE AT THE ARCHIVES
THURSDAY, JUNE 19 AT 12:00PM
HAPPY DREAMS OF LIBERTY: AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN SALVERY AND FREEDOM
PRESENTED BY DR. ISABELA MORALES
Montgomery, AL (6/5/2025) – The Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) will continue its 2025 Food for Thought lunchtime lecture series on Thursday, June 19, at 12:00pm CT. Dr. Isabela Morales will present Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom. This Food for Thought lecture is being offered ONLINE ONLY. It will be livestreamed on the ADAH’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Dr. Isabela Morales is a historian and the author of Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom. The book has received numerous honors, including the Frederick Douglass Book Prize, the leading international book award for scholarship on slavery and emancipation, and the Tom Watson Brown Book Award, a prestigious recognition in Civil War history.
Happy Dreams of Liberty follows the story of the Townsend family of Madison County, Alabama. Born to a wealthy white cotton planter and several enslaved African American women he owned, the Townsend children were emancipated upon his death and inherited their father's estate. In the following years, they moved across the country, searching for communities where they could exercise their freedom and wealth to the fullest. Their extraordinary story offers a revealing glimpse into the intersections of race, money, and opportunity in 19th-century American history.
For additional information, contact Alex Colvin at alex.colvin@archives.alabama.gov or (334) 353-4689. A complete schedule of our 2025 lunchtime lecture series is available at archives.alabama.gov. Food for Thought 2025 is sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Friends of the Alabama Archives.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.
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