Juneteenth: 7 Lesser-known black abolitionists
1.William Wells Brown
Born circa 1814 near Lexington, Kentucky, William Wells Brown became a notable author and antislavery activist who wrote a widely read autobiography about his experiences as a slave in Missouri.
William took the name Wells Brown from the Quaker who helped him escape slavery in 1834. He would use his work on a steamboat at Lake Erie to help other fugitive slaves get to Canada.
During the 1840s, Brown was a lecturer with the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society and had his first book published, Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave, which sold around 10,000 copies in two years.
Brown is credited with being the first African American author to have a novel published, Three Years in Europe and Clotel, as well as a play, The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom.
“With both his actions and his words, Brown worked tirelessly on behalf of the abolition movement,” explained Historic Missourians. “His writings brought attention to the plight of enslaved people and later to free Blacks everywhere.”
