Hidden Town: Short Documentaries on Slavery in Salem
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
ZSR Auditorium
The Studio and ZSR Special Collections and Archives showcased six short documentaries on slavery in Salem that were written, filmed, and edited by Wake Forest undergraduates.
On October 21, 2026, the Studio and ZSR Special Collections and Archives showcased six short documentaries on slavery in Salem that were written, filmed, and edited by Wake Forest undergraduates. Students created this work as part of Old Salem Museums & Gardens’ Hidden Town Project: an initiative to research the repressed history of the enslaved Africans and African Americas who lived in what we now call “Old Salem” and to make that research visible in our local community. These productions were also supported by collaboration with the Creative Corridors Coalition, the Moravian Archives, MUSE Winston-Salem, Salem Academy and College, and Tria Cultural Arts. The six films are as follows and can be viewed on hiddentown.org:
- Anna Maria Samuel (1781–1798)
- Christina Bass (c. 1787–unknown)
- Christian David (c. 1780–1839)
- Francis Fries (1812–1863)
- Elias Vogler (1825–1876)
- 716 Humphrey Street: A Legacy of Happy Hill
