By 1831, over 10,000 enslaved people and over 17,000 free people of color lived in Baltimore. Nat Turner’s rebellion in August that year made the churches even more important to the Maritime Underground Railroad. An integral part of its function in Baltimore was the African Methodist Bethel Society, founded in 1815. It incorporated the Bethel AME Church in 1816 for the Black community. The enslaved could attend, but could not become members under Maryland law.

TheThis is the grim reality behind the story in my historical fiction/magical realism book for ages 9-12. I don’t go into this much historical detail but focus on what they see around them and its effects on them as the enslaved twins escape on the UGRR. I can’t help but think of the immigrant families being locked away.