This was my second stop on the 5-day ramble I took along the Cape Fear River a couple weeks ago.
When I left Fayetteville, I got on NC 87 and followed the Cape Fear River down through Tar Heel, Dublin, and East Arcadia, running along the edges of the communities that are the ancestral home of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, the People of the Falling Star.
A little past Riegelwood, I turned east and drove through Leland and over the marshlands and ghost forests along the Brunswick River, then crossed the Cape Fear into Wilmington.
Here are a few photographs from this next leg of my trip. It took me first to Wilmington, then to Carolina Beach, and then I followed the Cape Fear the rest of the way to the sea.
My first stop was the Cameron Art Museum, where my friend, the playwright and actor Mike Wiley, was performing his one-man play The Fire of Freedom. Written by Howard Craft, the play is based on my book The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War. The play’s story unfolds over a six-year period in Abraham Galloway’s life, beginning with his escape from Wilmington in 1857. Photo by David Cecelski
Mike was, as always, magical. I can never take my eyes off him when he is performing. At times, he wandered through the audience, really making us feel as if Abraham Galloway had come back to life and was walking among us. We could feel history’s breath on us. Photo courtesy, Carolina K-12.
Mike was performing The Fire of Freedom for a professional development workshop and retreat that Carolina K-12 had organized for school teachers from across North Carolina. The teachers gave him a much deserved standing ovation, then I joined him on stage for a Q & A session. As always happens when Mike portrays the renegade black leader, one of the teachers asked the question that for me matters most now: what would Abraham Galloway do today? Photo courtesy, Carolina K-12
A historian and former school teacher herself, Cori Greer-Banks is the director of Carolina K-12, the widely loved outreach program that brings UNC-Chapel Hill’s scholarship and classroom knowhow to school teachers in every corner of North Carolina. Mike’s performance was part of a 4-day, Carolina K-12 workshop and retreat called “Harbors of Democracy” that focused on American history and civics as seen through an in-depth exploration of Wilmington’s past. Photo by David Cecelski
September Krueger and her colleagues at the Cameron Art Museum worked hand-in-hand with Carolina K-12 to assist the teachers to explore effective methods for incorporating the workshop’s lessons in curriculum planning and classroom instruction. September is CAM’s curator of education and public programs and is on my very short list of individuals from whom I never decline an invitation to be part of an event. Photo by David Cecelski
Mike and I in the midst of the teachers and Carolina K-12 staff at the Cameron Art Museum. Photo courtesy, Carolina K-12
While Mike was performing, a big thunderstorm had come through Wilmington. During the show, I could hear the rain and thunder.
When all was done, I walked to my car through the downpour, loving the rain in this summer of drought and still inspired by the night.
— Next stop: Carolina Beach–
David Cecelski 
I apologize if this comment gets repeat posted…
This playwright and the figure he portrays sounds like someone Professor Tad Stoermer would appreciate learning about, if he doesn’t already know this story.
He teaches and wrote a book about resistance history in the US, if you’re not familiar with his work, and he has a substack page, along with a Youtube channel.
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I do look forward to your stories. It’s because of them that I regret not living closer to home. As always,Thanks,Darlene Badger If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
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