Juneteenth: 7 Lesser-known black abolitionists
6.Harriet Jacobs
Born a slave in North Carolina in 1813, Harriet Jacobs is believed to be the first woman to author a published fugitive slave account, which was titled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and released in 1860.
According to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill project Documenting the American South, Jacobs' account was "an unprecedented mixture of confession, self-justification, and societal expose."
"White abolitionist propaganda in the antebellum era only rarely discussed how slave women resisted sexual exploitation," the UNC project explained.
"Jacobs, however, was determined to portray herself as an agent rather than a victim, a woman motivated by a desire for freedom much stronger than a fear of sexual retribution."
During and after the American Civil War, Jacobs worked on endeavors to assist former slaves and black refugees, which included launching schools in Virginia and Massachusetts.
