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with national significance,” stated the executive director of CT Humanities, Jason Mancini. The co-

director of CT Trust for Historic Preservation (Jane Montanaro) explained that “these houses tell the story of

multi- ethnic community of color that opened its doors to free and formerly enslaved people from throughout

the Atlantic world and challenged the very definitions of freedom in the antebellum North.” The CT Trust for

Historic Preservation also has awarded grant money for the restoration of the houses (“Bridgeport’s Freeman

Houses,” 2018). The site is also known to have participated in what was known as the “underground railroad”

during the Civil War to harbor runaway slaves from the south. Underground Railroad areas have constantly

been honored and discussed as pivotal to American History.

DISCUSSION

The strong support for the restoration of the Freeman Houses in the local area of both Bridgeport and the

wider state of Connecticut will likely continue to grow to national attention, especially with the new efforts in

the United States to highlight the significance of the history of minority and previously discriminated groups.

The rich history and the tourism in nearby areas only add to the increasing potential the Freeman Houses have

as a historically valued site that will have the capacity to maintain itself financially.

Connecticut Trust Committees, advocates for historical sites, and the humanities have all discussed the

national significance of the homes. They represent more than one moment in history with wide- reaching

historical value. P.T. Barnum’s involvement in Little Liberia, the community of Little Liberia, the success of

two independent women, the achievements of a discriminated group, the role in the defense for the rights of

slaves in the south, and the representation of a community which housed not only blacks, but Native

Americans who lived with one another peacefully in a time where their human rights were systematically

abused.

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