Step beyond the traditional historic tour and into the lived world of the people who called Smithfield home — not as guests, but as the enslaved men, women, and children whose labor, love, and resilience shaped every corner of this place.
Join author Kerri Moseley-Hobbs for an intimate, moving walkthrough of Historic Smithfield as she reads excerpts from her book More Than A Fraction — a powerful work of historical fiction that restores humanity and voice to the Fraction family, who were enslaved at Smithfield. Through richly imagined prose, Kerri brings to life their personalities, inner thoughts, relationships, and daily experiences — the full, complex lives that history so often leaves out.
As the group moves from room to room and across the grounds, each reading unfolds in the very place where its story is set — letting the physical space and the narrative illuminate each other in ways no conventional tour can.
This is Black history told with depth, dignity, and imagination. Come ready to listen, to feel, and to see Smithfield differently.
Free and open to all. No registration or tickets required.
Kerri Moseley-Hobbs
Founder and Executive Director
Dr. Kerri Moseley-Hobbs, Founder, and Executive Director of the More Than A Fraction Foundation, brings nearly two decades of comprehensive experience in education, straddling roles encompassing administration and research/program development. Her journey includes pivotal contributions to postsecondary (higher education) policy, regulation, and administration, coupled with a deep involvement in experiential learning, educational presentations, exposure initiatives, and historical research. Beyond her extensive involvement in prestigious projects, Dr. Moseley-Hobbs is an author, penning the creative non-fiction book "More Than a Fraction: Based on a True Story." She stands as one of the prominent voices chronicling the history of Africans in America, and African Americans, of Maryland, the Southeast region, and beyond.
Before assuming leadership roles in higher education, Dr. Moseley-Hobbs served as a promotion's assistant and junior writer at The Baltimore Times Newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland. Her remarkable journey in publishing commenced at the age of 12 and continued until she embarked on her higher education career at 18.
Holder of a doctorate degree in Education and three degrees from the University of Maryland—a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master’s degree in interdisciplinary management, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA)—Dr. Moseley-Hobbs traces her lineage as a 4th-generation descendant of Thomas Fraction, the central figure in her debut creative non-fiction book, "More Than A Fraction”.