This summer, the Du Bois Freedom Center (DFC) will kick off a series of collaborative community-based celebrations of Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved African American woman to sue Massachusetts and win her freedom.

DFC will display an exhibition featuring artwork created by students from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Mass- Art) honoring Freeman. At summer’s end, the project will culminate with a permanent historical marker erected in front of the Great Barrington Town Hall, the site of the original courtroom where Freeman’s case was heard in 1781. This marker will include two digitally painted artworks by MassArt students Emma Sunnerberg and Abby Glover, whose art was selected by DFC.

Freeman’s lawsuit was a bellwether case for many other enslaved individuals who later sued for their freedom and won. This series of lawsuits led the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to abolish slavery in the commonwealth in 1783.

“This collaboration with the DFC is a really beautiful example of the type of reciprocal and mutually beneficial collaborations that we do at MassArt,” said Elena Belle White, director of MassArt’s Center for Art and Community Partnership. “We got to know the folks at the DFC. The students got to learn and understand the history and had multiple conversations with historians about this work.”

Freeman, also known as Mum Bett, was enslaved by Colonel John and Hannah Ashley in the western Massachusetts town of Sheffield. During the American Revolution, she attended a public reading of Massachusetts’ first constitution, taking note of the first article, which proclaimed, “All men are born free and equal.” Instead of being struck with inspiration by this promise, as others around her were, Freeman was enraged by its blatant hypocrisy.

Less than a year later, Freeman, lawyer Theodore Sedgwick and Brom — an enslaved man also from the Ashley household who was added to the case to ensure that Freeman’s argument was not dismissed due to sexism — argued that the language used in the new Massachusetts Constitution made slavery an illegal practice in Brom and Bett v. John Ashley.

The court sided in her favor, which prompted Freeman to change her name from “Mum Bett” to “Elizabeth Freeman” to signify her free status.

“Elizabeth Freeman epitomizes what it is to be a true patriot and a believer in democracy,” Belle White said.

“It’s really important that as we celebrate the [250th anniversary of America’s independence], we honor this kind of patriotism in our country.”

All 16 students who participated in the art exhibition were enrolled in professor Irena Roman’s “Professional Illustration for the Community” course. Students were asked to produce a historically accurate portrait of Freeman, as well as a similarly accurate courtroom scene.

Roman noted that this was a challenging task, as only one portrait of Freeman exists, which is “very small and was painted towards the end of her life.”

The DFC, historians and a live model helped students pursue historical accuracy through critiques, conversations and posing, respectively.

Students focused on telling Freeman’s story through art, achieving this by paying close attention to detail. Some students included a scar on Freeman’s forearm, which she incurred while intervening in a violent conflict between a servant girl and Hannah Ashley, who threw a heated coal shovel at her.

Others focused on Freeman’s posture and body language to convey courage and strength.

“Through these creative partnerships, students discover how illustration extends far beyond commercial markets,” Roman said.

“Ultimately, they see how their artistic contributions can deepen their understanding of themselves and their communities, while serving as a powerful catalyst for change.”

Belle White corroborated that sentiment.

“Contemporary art can be part of historical conversations and explorations, both in terms of thinking through what our contemporary society is all about and what our past teaches,” she said. “Artists have a great responsibility, especially in a democracy like ours where freedom of speech is threatened, to understand that when they choose to tell a story of this magnitude and importance, they can shift culture and educate others.”