A play inspired by a chapter in history is being performed free throughout parks in Hudson County.

“Walk by the Way of the Moon,” is a journey through Jersey City’s history.

“I play Fleta Hazel, and she starts off the show as a 9-year-old girl,” says actor Cassandra Ogbozor. “She moves from South Carolina and goes into the north as she is running away from slavery, and she runs away with her family and in the north, which is Jersey City, she finds her freedom."

The play was written for and produced by Speranza Theatre Company. It is being performed in Hudson County parks. It is inspired by Jersey City’s history as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

“The way I talk to my actors and explain to them that we come from people who were enslaved, but they weren't slaves first,” says director Tia Dionne Hodge. “They were people from Africa who had jobs and had farms. So, we come from that history."

Hodge says she believes the play educates and lifts up the audience.

"I want to feel empowered. And I am hoping that the people who watch this piece understand their history, that we should be empowered from the people who made it,” she says.

And that history is complex. The very park in Jersey City where the cast prepared to perform on Friday is Van Vorst Park. It is named after settlers going back to the 1600s, who historians say owned slaves.

“Walk by the Way of the Moon” will be performed in seven Hudson County parks through Sept. 25. The performances are free to attend, but reservations must be made in advance.