American History Too!

(Our guest this month, Hannah Rose Murray, @Hannah_RoseM , frederickdouglassinbritain.com) One spring evening in 1838, formerly enslaved African American Moses Roper spoke to a crowded audience in Leicester, and during one section of his speech, declared: "Many will say “This is the slaves’ side of the question. The slave-holders would tell a different story.” You have heard the slave-holders’ story 250 years ago. Now, I think it is time for the slaves to speak." In an extraordinary chapter of the antislavery movement, hundreds of black activists – many of whom were formerly enslaved – echoed Roper’s bold decision to tell the truth about slavery. Many of these individuals sought temporary reprieve from American soil, others permanent; some raised money to free themselves or enslaved family members; others sought work with varying success. Black men such as Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Josiah Henson, and women such as Sarah Parker Remond lectured in large cities and tiny fishing villages, wrote n