“We are walking for history,” declared Germantown resident Anthony Cohen, a Rockville High School graduate.
For the second time in his 63 years, Cohen will “Walk to Freedom” along the same path that so many enslaved African Americans traveled during slavery. The historian plans to walk 750 miles at a pace of about 12 miles a day from the Sandy Spring Slave Museum to Toronto, Canada. He will start May 4 and end July 4.
The journey is part a celebration of the country’s and the county’s 250th year and an attempt to ensure history is not forgotten.
“We’re in a time where in some quarters, history is under attack, and Americans are really grappling with our national identity. And so what better time and better way to promote and explore and connect with people over our core American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which I think was at the core of the Underground Railroad,” Cohen told MCM.
Cohen will be walking with a few other people, who will change from day to day.
He also plans an “activation day,” in which the community will come together to hear stories about his journey. There will be performances, lectures and community services projects in several of his stops along the way. He plans to stay at some homes, Quaker meeting houses, churches and colleges.
Along the way, if people ask him if he is concerned about preserving all the history of this country, and not just the positive parts, he plans to reply, “No, because history can’t be erased, unless they erase our minds.”
It has been a life-long effort for Cohen. He is founder of the Menare Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Underground Railroad, and operator of the Button Farm Living History Center inside Seneca Creek State Park in Germantown.
Button Farm has a 40-year lease in exchange for restoring the buildings at the site and maintaining the property.
The community can follow Cohen on his journey by going to https://www.menare.org/freedomwalk2026-about.
