Maryland Public Television (MPT) will premiere a one-hour documentary, “Ben’s Ten: Chattel Slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” as part of the station’s recognition of Black History Month. The documentary sheds light on the lives of enslaved Marylanders, including a young Harriet Tubman.
Following the documentary’s premiere on Feb. 19 at 9 p.m., MPT will air a series of 20 additional documentaries as part of the station’s Black History Month lineup.
“Ben’s Ten” follows Maryland Department of Transportation Chief Archaeologist Dr. Julie Schablitsky and a team of archaeologists and historians. They uncover artifacts that illustrate something of what the lives of enslaved people were like in Dorchester and Talbot counties in the 1800s.
The team discovered remnants of a home believed to belong to Ben Ross, the father of Harriet Tubman. Tubman’s descendants join the Schablitsky’s team to examine the homesite and its surrounding 10 acres known as “Ben’s Ten.” The property once belonged to enslaver Anthony Thompson and what the team uncovers in its excavation illuminates and confirms the harsh and cruel realities enslaved people faced. Ben’s Ten is now part of Blackwater National Wildlife refuge.
The program also features other sites, including another home on the Thompson property, where the team discovers what they believe is a “spirit bundle” that belonged to an enslaved family. The program takes viewers to slave quarters at Talbot County’s Wye Plantation, and to the home of a doctor, his family, and their enslaved laborers in Cambridge, MD.
Maryland was admitted to the Union as a slave state, and though it was a border state that did not secede to join the Confederacy during the Civil War, it did not outlaw slavery until November 1864 — well after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 1860, there were more than 87,000 enslaved people in Maryland.
Over the course of February, Black History Month, MPT will show more than 20 documentaries and specials honoring the Black experience in the United States, telling the compelling and heart-wrenching stories to shed light on the history of Maryland and the nation.
A preview of “Ben’s Ten” is available by clicking this link. It will air on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. on MPT-HD and the MPT live stream. After that, it will be available to view live and on demand using the free PBS App and MPT’s online video player.
