Your Guide to the 2025 Black Moses Freedom Festival

The fourth installment of the Black Moses Festival kick off at Penn Center on St. Helena Island Friday, June 6- Sunday June 8.

June 6–8, 2025 | Penn Center, St. Helena Island

The Black Moses Freedom Festival is all about honoring the legacy of Harriet Tubman and the powerful story of the Combahee River Raid, where Tubman helped liberate more than 750 enslaved people in Beaufort County.

This immersive festival blends history with forward-looking conversations about healing, art, land preservation, and wellness in the heart of the Sea Islands.

From attending a workshop, enjoying vegan cuisine, or dancing at the Conscious Hip-Hop Party, the Black Moses Freedom Festival offers something deeply meaningful for every attendee.

Here’s a day-by-day look at what’s happening:

🎉 Friday, June 6 | 3 PM–9 PM

Minty Market Open

• 3:30 PM – Welcome of the Drums
• 4:00 PM – Libation Ceremony led by Queen Quet
• 5:00 PM – Walking Stick/Staff Workshop with Onayemi
• 5:00 PM – Film Screening: “Seeking” at the museum
• 6:00 PM – Gullah/Geechee Create Workshop with Queen Quet
• 7:00–9:00 PM – Let Us Hear You Speak: Word, Sound, Power with The Bloom 101

🎨 Saturday, June 7 | 12 PM–10 PM

Minty Market Open

• 1:30 PM – Heirs Property Info Session from the Center for Heirs Property Preservation
• 3:30 PM – Genealogy Workshop with Monica Stinson
• 3:30 PM – Herbal Remedy Making Workshop with Aja Embry
• 4:30 PM – Mental Health & Wellness in the Black Community with Dr. Clea
• 5:30 PM – Indigo Dyeing Workshop with Ayo Ngozi
• 6:00–8:00 PM – Dinner & Dialogue featuring Dr. Michael Porter and Chef Lydasia Prather of The Greene St. Vegan LLC
• 8:00–10:00 PM – Conscious Hip-Hop Party with No Tapp

🌿 Sunday, June 8 | 10 AM–4 PM

Minty Market Open

• 10:00 AM – African Yoga & Sound Bowls led by Sacred Space Egyptian Yoga
• 11:00 AM – Tai Chi with Dr. Clay
• 12:00 PM – "Black Moses on the Combahee River" presented by De Gullah Way Performing People + Communal Lunch
• 1:30 PM – Film Screening: “NC Rice Festival” in honor of George Beatty
• 2:30 PM – “Chasing Harriet” Film Screening with Dr. Eurydice Stanley
• 3:30 PM – Sankofa Healing Experience

Black Moses Explained

Harriet Tubman was called the “Black Moses” because, much like the biblical figure Moses who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, she led enslaved people to freedom. The nickname symbolizes her role as a liberator, guiding more than 70 people to safety through the Underground Railroad and helping to free over 750 others during the Combahee River Raid in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 1863. Now in it's fourth year, the annual event was created by Eboni Holmes of Sacred Space Egyptian Yoga LLC, a poet and yoga instructor with ancestral ties to Beaufort.

📍 Location: Penn Center, St. Helena Island
📅 Dates: Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8, 2025

For those interested in learning more about Harriet Tubman’s connection to South Carolina and experiencing a weekend of history, healing, and heritage, this festival offers a powerful way to engage.