I am proud and thrilled to be bringing the story of FIVE FOR FREEDOM: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s Army to the Howard University campus on January 26.  This is the  story of five “hidden figures” overshadowed for 160 by their martyred commander.  It is not only about how and why these brave freedom fighters came together at a time and place — Harpers Ferry in October 1859 — but also about the world into which they were born and raised, their families, their lives and deaths and the aftermath, including their legacies and their descendants down through the generations.  As a National Park Service ranger said, “It is not a story of the past. It is a story from the past that is relevant to the present.”  Their story is an American story.  It belongs to all of us.