Mumbet: The Story of Elizabeth Freeman

by Harold W. Felton, Donn Albright (Illustrator)

A biography of the first Negro slave to win her freedom in the courts of Massachusetts.

63 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1970

Reviews

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN A CONNECTICUT COURTROOM

This concise but interesting book is an excellent biography of a courageous and gifted Black woman in post-Colonial times. With self-composure she fought for her freedom--not using violence--but working within the Law, in a Connecticut courtroom.

Consisting of an introduction and 15 short chapters this modest
volume depicts her focused struggle to enjoy the liberty which the Colonists had recently bought so dearly. In her pursuit of justice she earns the respect of her lawyer and second master/employer. She performs all household duties with skill and integrity: nurse, housekeeper, even defender of the hearth during the master's absence. Mumbet pursues her dream of freedom 35 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, and achieves it legally, with great dignity. I had never heard of this courageous woman (I am embarrassed to confess), so this little book is a great read for young students of Black History--as well as anyone pursuing a course in Women's Studies.

(Decemer 5, 2012. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember fondly the row of orange, cloth-bound junior biographies in my childhood town's public library: Molly Pitcher, Ethan Allen and other American heroes. Here's a title that wasn't on the shelf, but should have been. Mumbet- a particularly local hero, who had an unlikely story. She was a slave who believed in the rule of law and had enough understanding of the newly minted Massachusetts state constitution that she successfully sued for her freedom in 1781. Bless her!