CELEBRATE FLINT, MI!! Historical Marker Celebration, 2005.
A view of the east side of the new marker on the Courthouse lawn. "Resistance to Slavery" - "During the mid-nineteenth century a small number of African Americans settled in Genesee County where they found cheap land and employment as barbers, laborers, farmers, carpenters, and domestics. At this time differing opinions in Genesee County about the issue of slavery reflected growing tension nationally. The Genesee Weekly Democrat ran articles unsympathetic to Blacks, but also printed editorials opposing slavery. The Genesee Whig promoted abolition. In 1841 residents formed the Genesee County Anti-Slavery Society and held meetings at the courthouse, which became a venue for national figures who lectures about the evils of slavery. Author, publisher and activist who escaped slavery, Henry W. Bibb and Liberty party presidential candidate James G. Birney spoke here, among other notable lecturers."