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Harriet A. Jacobs
Transcript
Middle Age
- Married a white lawyer and had two children
- She still suffered from the harassment
- When she learned that Norcom was going to have her children work as plantations slaves, she decided to escape
Her Escape
- Moved into a crawlspace and lived there for 7 years
- In 1842, she had found the courage to escape
- Sailed to Philadelphia and then traveled to New York City.
Early Life
- Born into slavery
- When she turned 15, Dr. James Norcom became her master
- Suffered sexual victimization from Dr. Norcom for 7 years
Why Did they Choose to Be Involved?
- Main reason for writing her autobiography was to address white women of the North on behalf of thousand of “Slave mothers that are still in bondage” in the South.
- Autobiography is an analysis of the myths and the realities associated with her situation as an African American woman in the 19th century.
Who was Harriet J.Jacobs?
Major Contributions
- Slave
- Author of the autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- First woman to write a narrative about being a fugitive slave in the United States.
- In New York she became involved with the abolitionists associated with Frederick Douglass’ paper, the North Star
- She became legally free
- Wrote the autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- One of the first open discussions about the sexual harassment and abuse that slave women experienced