Name: The Black Patriots of Lexington - Adam Tidd Episode Screening & Q+A
Start: 2026-02-17T18:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-17T20:30:00-05:00
Location: Lexington History Museums

The Black Patriots of Lexington - Adam Tidd Episode Screening & Q+A

Explore the often-overlooked role that Black people played in the Battle of Lexington & the Revolutionary War, including enslaved soldiers.
About this Event

Military Patriot Adam Tidd - explore the role that Black men and women, like enslaved Lexington resident Adam Tidd played in the Revolutionary War.

This episode features the inspirational story of Adam Tidd and his journey from being an enslaved servant of Lt. William Tidd of Captain Parker’s Company to a soldier in the Continental Army and later the father of a renowned Boston musician.

While enslaved, Adam Tidd lived off Hancock Street, near the current location of the William Diamond Middle School.

Explore what it was like to fight for a nascent country while enslaved and to live longer free than enslaved.

A free event.

Presenters: Dr. Bill Poole, PhD, retired history and science teacher and historian for the Lexington Minute Men and Sean D. Osborne, public historian and producer of the Black Patriots of Lexington YouTube series.

For more information on the Black Patriots of Lexington video series visit .

Cohosted by the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, Lexington History Museums and Tricons 2 Red Tails.

BACKGROUND

ABCL’s Black Patriots of Lexington is a multi-pronged project that includes a nine-part series that explores the lives of 5 soldiers who fought in Lexington on April 19, 1775; three Black men who witnessed the battle as Lexington residents and later enlisted in the Continental Army; and two Black women and one Black man who witnessed the first day of war. Of the 8 soldiers, 3 were born into land-owning, tax-paying families and 5 were born into enslavement. All served their nascent country well and 7 of the 8 are known to have died free men. The YouTube series was coproduced by ABCL, LexMedia and Tricons 2 Red Tails.

The project also includes portrait banners of the 11 featured Black Patriots which will be displayed in Lexington Center during the month of July 2026. Some of the storytellers who were trained during workshops funded by this project will be bringing these amazing 18th century lives to a 21st century audience during ABCL's Quock Walker Day Community Celebration on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at the Lexington Visitors Center.

ABCL’s Black Patriots of Lexington was supported by a Community Endowment of Lexington grant.