Harriet Tubman (ca. 1820-1913)
Known as the “Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was enslaved, escaped, and helped others gain their freedom as a “conductor" of the Underground Railroad. Tubman also served as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. She is considered the first African American woman to serve in the military.
Harriet Tubman by
Inspiring story of bravery, perseverance, and self-sacrifice recalls the courageous life of one of the most well-known "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. This memorable biography recalls the former slave's grim childhood, her perilous experiences leading slaves into Canada, her efforts as a nurse, cook, and scout for the Union Army, and more.
ISBN: 0806504153Publication Date: 2000-06-01
Ellen Craft (1826-1891)
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by
This edition of their thrilling story is newly typeset from the original 1860 text. Eleven annotated supplementary readings, drawn from a variety of contemporary sources, help to place the Crafts' story within the complex cultural currents of transatlantic abolitionism.
Call Number: E450 .C8ISBN: 9780820321042Publication Date: 1999-04-01
In 1848 William and Ellen Craft made one of the most daring and remarkable escapes in the history of slavery in America. With fair-skinned Ellen in the guise of a white male planter and William posing as her servant, the Crafts traveled by rail and ship--in plain sight and relative luxury--from bondage in Macon, Georgia, to freedom first in Philadelphia, then Boston, and ultimately England.
Sojourner Truth (1791-1883)
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Call Number: E185.97 .T882 1987ISBN: 040501841XPublication Date: 1974-06-01Written for Sojourner Truth by Olive Gilbert.
A former slave, Sojourner Truth became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women’s rights in the nineteenth century. She never learned to read or write. In 1850, she dictated what would become her autobiography— The Narrative of Sojourner Truth—to Olive Gilbert, who assisted in its publication. In 1851, Truth began a lecture tour that included a women’s rights conference in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. In it, she challenged prevailing notions of racial and gender inferiority and inequality by reminding listeners of her combined strength (Truth was nearly six feet tall) and female status. When the Civil War started, Truth urged young men to join the Union cause and organized supplies for black troops. Her Civil War work earned her an invitation to meet President Abraham Lincoln. While in Washington, DC, she lobbied against segregation, and in the mid 1860s, when a streetcar conductor tried to violently block her from riding, she ensured his arrest and won her subsequent case. In the late 1860s, she collected thousands of signatures on a petition to provide former slaves with land, though Congress never took action. Nearly blind and deaf towards the end of her life, Truth spent her final years in Michigan.
Sarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1822)
Abolitionist, writer, educator
Mary Prince (1788-1833)
The History of Mary Prince by
Mary Prince was the first black British woman to escape from slavery and publish a record of her experiences. In this unique document, Mary Prince vividly recalls her life as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island, and Antigua, her rebellion against physical and psychological degradation, and her eventual escape to London in 1828. First published in London and Edinburgh in 1831, and well into its third edition that year, The History of Mary Prince inflamed public opinion and created political havoc. Never before had the sufferings and indignities of enslavement been seen through the eyes of a woman--a woman struggling for freedom in the face of great odds. Moira Ferguson's edition of the book added an introduction, annotations, and appendices. The book has found popularity both in the classroom and with the general public. Recently, an adaptation of the memoirs of Mary Prince appeared as one segment of "A Skirt Through History," a six-part feature film series produced by the BBC. Mary Prince's story has also been the centerpiece of BBC radio broadcasts. In this revised and expanded edition of The History of Mary Prince, Ferguson has added new material, based on her extensive research in Bermuda and London. The book includes new details of Mary Prince's experiences as a freewoman in England, the transcripts of several libel cases brought against her, and the reactions of British society, as seen in prominent periodicals of the day, against the original publication of The History of Mary Prince. This new material brings greater depth and detail and serves to more fully illustrate and contextualize the life of this remarkable woman. Moira Ferguson is James E. Ryan Professor of English and Women's Literature, University of Nebraska.
Call Number: HT869.P6 A3 1997ISBN: 0472084100Publication Date: 1997-11-17
The first woman to present an anti-slavery petition to Parliament.