Harriet Jacobs knew she had to act soon. The slave owner kept pursuing her sexually. Though she had refused him, she knew he would do terrible things to have her. But there was more.
She had birthed two children with the man she loved, a free man, behind his back. Now the predator told her that another act of “defiance” would get her children sold into slavery!
There was only one thing she could do.
She had to run. If she ran, her children could remain free because no one could prove their mother was enslaved. But there was a twist to her plan that would allow her to still be near her children AND avoid her lewd captor. What on Earth was it?
She would hide in plain sight! Instead of running away forever, she hid in her grandmother’s attic and watched her children grow. She stayed in that attic for SEVEN years, and no one knew she was there.
So what became of her children?
They were safe! And she even went on to write about her story in her book, “Incidents In the Life Of A Slave Girl!” The book helped motivate the abolition of slavery.
How can you use your life experiences to help liberate our people?