You might have learned that the Emancipation Proclamation and Union victories ended slavery in America. But so much more went into abolishing slavery than battles and declarations, and freedom meant more to Black people than eventually being paid for their labor. ​ Seizing Freedom ​​is a new Witness Docs and VPM podcast that focuses on the agency Black people exercised to define what freedom meant for themselves. You'll hear how they fought to liberate themselves during the Civil War and how they made freedom real by organizing for equality and justice during Reconstruction, despite every attempt at violent suppression. And you’ll hear how they did it in their own words. ​Seizing Freedom ​presents these stories through the lens of lived experience, drawing from letters, diary entries, autobiographies, and more to showcase voices from American history that have been ignored time and time again. Visit seizingfreedom.com, and subscribe now in Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.