Museum Open May-October, Sundays 12 to 4 or by appointment

Florence Ma

September 2026

Four Roads to Freedom: An Evening of Social Justice in Song and Conversation @Bombyx

By |2026-09-17T23:04:29-04:00September 17th, 2026|

October 17 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The David Ruggles Center is pleased to partner with Bombyx to present Four Roads to Freedom, an evening of conversation and singing of social justice. Through song, Four Roads to Freedom brings community together to explore four powerful movements for justice and equality across cultures and history:

• Black Civil Rights anthems rooted in the legacy of slavery and the ongoing struggle for racial justice
• Irish rebel music expressing resistance and the fight for independence
• South American Nueva Canción, confronting dictatorship and political repression
• Yiddish labor songs born from early 20th-century worker movements, including the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Click here for tickets and information on the Bombyx website.

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity

130 Pine St
Florence, MA 01062 United States + Google Map
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June 2024

Juneteenth Open House 12-4 PM

By |2024-06-03T13:23:58-04:00June 3rd, 2024|

June 19, 2024 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

In honor of the Juneteenth holiday, the David Ruggles Center will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, June 19 from 12-4. Come learn the stories of the Black men and women in 1840s and 1850s Florence who fought to end slavery and racism including: David Ruggles, a fierce fighter for racial justice and an architect of what came to be known as the Underground Railroad, helping over 500 people escape enslavement including Frederick Douglass, and who lived the final years of his short but heroic life in Florence ; Sojourner Truth who during her 14 years in Florence launched her career as an iconic lecturer on antislavery, women’s rights, and after emancipation, the rights of the freed people; Stephen Rush, one of the several self-emancipated formerly enslaved who sought freedom and respite at the utopian community of abolitionists, the Northampton Association; and Basil Dorsey, who also escaped enslavement and ultimately settled and stayed in Florence with his family. For more information, please contact info@davidrugglescenter.org.

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity

130 Pine St
Florence, MA 01062 United States + Google Map
View Venue Website
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February 2024

Basil Dorsey Day Walking Tour

By |2024-02-07T21:01:15-05:00February 7th, 2024|

February 17, 2024

@ 10:00 am

–

11:30 am

Please join us in celebrating the life of Basil Dorsey, a freedom seeker from Maryland who began his escape from enslavement in 1836, ultimately settling in Florence, Massachusetts in 1844. DRC Guides Kim Gerould and Kevin McQuillan will start with a short introduction in the museum, and then walk, looking at sites connected to Dorsey, the Underground Railroad, and the abolitionist and reform movements of the 1840s and 1850s.

The walk is free to the public. Donations to the Center are always welcome and appreciated. RSVP is not required but appreciated.

For more information, or to RSVP, email info@davidrugglescenter.org.

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity

130 Pine St


Florence,

MA

01062

United States

+ Google Map

View Venue Website

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June 2023

Juneteenth Program:  “David Ruggles, Organizer: Meeting of the 1844 “Colored Citizens of Northampton,” & the 1850 Meeting to resist the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,” by Steve Strimer. Followed by a Walking Tour.

By |2023-06-12T10:29:33-04:00June 10th, 2023|

June 19, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

In honor of Juneteenth, the DRC is proud to present a new slideshow developed and presented by Steve Strimer: “David Ruggles, Organizer: Meeting of the 1844 “Colored Citizens of Northampton,” & the 1850 Meeting to resist the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.” The presentation will be held at the Ruggles Center and will be followed by a Walking Tour of sites and houses related to Black anti-slavery activists and fugitives from slavery documented in the slideshow. The indoor program is limited to 30 attendees. Masks optional. For more information, please email info@davidrugglescenter.org.

Details

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity

130 Pine St
Florence, MA 01062 United States + Google Map
View Venue Website
Read More
Comments Off on Juneteenth Program:  “David Ruggles, Organizer: Meeting of the 1844 “Colored Citizens of Northampton,” & the 1850 Meeting to resist the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,” by Steve Strimer. Followed by a Walking Tour.
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