Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman / Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West

Name: Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman / Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West
Author: Austin Steward

By Austin Steward

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About This Book

The narrative recounts the author's life from enslavement through emancipation and decades of freedom, describing plantation labor, service at a great house, being hired out, and experiences surrounding horse-racing, dueling, and kidnapping attempts. It follows migration northward, settlement and business in villages and Rochester, encounters with legal and social persecution, and eventual relocation to Canada where he helps lead a colonist community. Interspersed reflections examine the meaning of freedom, the condition of free Black people, community organizing, narrow escapes, personal losses, and an extended correspondence about abolitionist and civic affairs.

About the Author

Austin Steward

Austin Steward was an African American author and abolitionist, best known for his memoir "Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman." In this work, he recounts his harrowing experiences as a slave and his subsequent life as a free man, providing valuable insights into the struggles and resilience of African Americans in the 19th century. Steward also played a significant role in the establishment of the Wilberforce Colony in Canada, where he served as president. His writings contribute to the understanding of the African American experience and the fight for freedom during a pivotal time in history.