"In the mid-1800s, before the Civil War, Thomas White fled his enslavement in Maryland for freedom. It was a risky escape, one that involved a horseback ride under the cover of darkness, abolitionists helping to hide him, and a northward journey through Delaware and Pennsylvania. Ultimately, he arrived-safe and free-in Massachusetts. The details of White's flight are chronicled on 40-odd sheets of paper and were written most probably by other people who heard his story."
"Ari Daniel: There's a moment from the autumn of 2024 that Rachel Fortuna Cabral remembers acutely. Rachel Fortuna Cabral: We're sitting in the history wing, and in front of me is a box. Daniel: Rachel was on campus at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island where she's an undergrad majoring in history. Cabral: And we open up the box, and in it sits the tattered pages of the yellowing manuscript. And I just felt chills go across my body. You see this beautiful cursive."
Thomas White escaped enslavement in Maryland in the mid-1800s by riding on horseback at night, hiding with abolitionist assistance, and traveling north through Delaware and Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. His flight is recorded on roughly forty sheets of yellowing paper that were likely written by listeners who transcribed his account. Such first-person slave testimonies are extremely rare, and the length of these pages makes this example especially unusual. Undergraduate researcher Rachel Fortuna Cabral and scholar Deborah Plant have examined the manuscript. Smithsonian magazine reported on the discovery the previous year.
Read at Smithsonian Magazine
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