In October 2021, Charleston Area Branch of ASALH members Julia-Ellen Davis and Vicki Davis Williams visited London, England, to commemorate the blue English Heritage plaque for William and Ellen Craft. During this visit, they were able to for the first time meet face-to-face their British cousins and this meeting is depicted in the image above. All of the individuals are the great, great grandchildren of Ellen and William Craft.
While in London, CBS News-CBS Saturday Morning and British Sky News interviewed Julia-Ellen and Vicki regarding their ancestors, Ellen and William Craft. The CBS Saturday Morning segment aired
in the United States on October 23rd. The interview with Julia-Ellen and her British cousin discussed the importance of London’s historic Blue plaque, which commemorated the work of William and Ellen as abolitionists in the 1800s in Great Britain.
London’s famous blue plaques link the people of the past with the buildings of the present. Now run by English Heritage, the London blue plaques was started in 1866 and is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world.
You can find out more about the history of the Craft’s at the College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, where the family has an archival collection and/or view a selection of items digitally on the Lowcountry Digital Library (LCDL) . Additionally, you can read their autobiography, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, online here.
Charleston Area Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History 