In honor of Black History Month, Dare County encourages residents and visitors to view the video linked below about the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island and to visit the First Light of Freedom Memorial, which is located at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island.
The Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island was established by the army in 1863 to provide a safe haven for formerly enslaved African-Americans seeking freedom and a new way of life. The memorial is also part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.