Erica Dunbar shares how the stories we find can change the stories we know

By Karen Price

Among her many talents and credits, Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar is a historian, a respected scholar, a professor, a television producer, and a writer.

Most of all, she loves a good story. 

PA Humanities had the honor of hosting Dunbar at a special event at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia on Aug. 12 in partnership with America250PA. Dunbar was the keynote speaker for “Everybody Has a Story: A Conversation with Erica Armstrong Dunbar,” and for 90 minutes she shared stories of her work and her life, including how she came to write the 2017 National Book Award finalist, “Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.” 

Dunbar was researching a different topic when she came upon an advertisement in the “American Daily Advertiser” from May 25, 1796, offering ten dollars reward to any person, white or Black, who would bring home the “Mulatto girl” “absconded from the household of the President of the United States.” Realizing that the President the ad was talking about was George Washington, she decided to do some digging. 

Nine years later, Dunbar completed a book that allows us to think differently about the American narrative and paints a portrait of a woman who was resourceful, brave, and valued freedom above all else. It was important, she said, to write a book “that her scholarly peers would respect but that her aunties would read”. 

“That is the democratization of education,” said Dunbar, who also adapted the book into a young readers’ version. “That is inviting people in.”

Jeannine Cook, founder and owner of Harriet’s Bookshop in Philadelphia, engaged not only Dr. Dunbar in conversation following her talk, but also the entire audience as she asked those in attendance to share stories with one another. She sold nearly every copy she brought of both the adult and young reader versions of “Never Caught,” with many purchasers then waiting in line to have their books signed. 

“In a climate where literacy levels are declining and book bans are on the rise, our people showed up for reading,” Cook said. 

In addition to being part of the America250PA celebration, the event was a part of PA Humanities Voices of History Philadelphia project. Voices of History invites everyday Black Pennsylvanians to share their stories of family, joys and struggles, and it launched in 2024 in Pittsburgh. Subsequent story-gathering events were held in Erie, Scranton and now Philadelphia, partnering with Paul Robeson House and Museum, Marian Anderson Historical Society & Museum, Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House and Historic Germantown. 

“This evening really embodied what we hope to accomplish through Voices of History,” PA Humanities senior director of content and engagement Dawn Frisby Byers said. “Dr. Dunbar showed us what can happen when we look beyond the familiar historical narrative and ask whose voices are missing. I hope people left thinking about the stories in their own families and communities and understanding how important it is that we preserve and share them.”

In addition to discussing “Never Caught,” Dunbar also spoke of how she came to be involved with HBO’s The Gilded Age. After being asked to consult on the portrayal of Black characters in scripts for a new, in that moment undisclosed period drama, Dunbar was then invited to join the team permanently as a co-executive producer, ensuring historical accuracy in 19th-century race relations and the stories of the Black elite. 

The site of the event “Everybody Has a Story” was also deeply meaningful. Mother Bethel AME sits just blocks from the President’s House from which Ona Judge escaped. The site has been in the news in recent months following the administration’s order to remove panels that told the story of the nine people enslaved there, Judge included. Mother Bethel AME was founded by Richard Allen, who operated a network to assist freedom seekers and is widely believed to have helped Judge in her escape. 

Dunbar fielded a number of questions from a wide range of audience members, including one young African American student who thanked her for portraying worlds in both the book and The Gilded Age in which she can see herself. The evening was filled with moments of inspiration, including Dunbar, who told the audience to follow their inner voice.

“And if you’re uncertain and having trouble finding bravery,” she said, “Read Ona’s story.”

Voices of History Philadelphia is made possible, in part, through By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Additional funding was provided by individual donors; the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation; the Philadelphia Foundation; Randall M. Miller; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PA Department of Community and Economic Development and PA Department of Education; with special thanks to Pennsylvania State Senators.

Presented by PA Humanities in partnership with America250PA, Everybody Has a Story: A Conversation with Erica Armstrong Dunbar was made possible by the generous support of many individuals, along with funding from the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development; and Randall M. Miller; with special thanks to Pennsylvania State Senators and additional marketing support from the Ona Judge Coalition.