Free the Oppressed: The Battle of the Loxahatchee

What if one of the most powerful stories of resistance in Florida history happened right here… and few people know it?

This May, during Historic Preservation Month, step back into time into a gripping moment from 1838—where Seminole warriors and their Black allies stood together in a fierce fight for freedom along the Loxahatchee River.

This wasn’t just a battle for land. It was a battle for liberty.

On Wed., May 6, at 2 p.m. at Elliot Museum, 826 NE Ocean Blvd., Stuart, join historian Derek Hankerson for a compelling, eye-opening presentation that brings this overlooked chapter of the Second Seminole War to life, revealing the courage, strategy, and human stories behind the conflict.

Come curious. Leave changed.

This is history that still echoes today.

Hankerson, a direct Gullah Geechee descendant, is a writer, director, and producer at Freedom Road Productions who has held three presidential appointments. The primary focus of FRP has been educating Americans on the rich contributions of those minority populations to including Native American, Hispanic, Asians, and Africans who helped settle Florida.

There is no cost to share in this powerful and memorable presentation, but it is first-come, first-served, and space is limited. To learn more about the event, please visit the Historical Society of Martin County at the Elliott Museum.

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