BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

[Hugh Gaddy]

William Wells Brown


William Wells Brown Was Born A Slave Near Lexington, Kentucky, On November 6, 1814. His Mother Is Believed To Be The Daughter Of Frontiersman, Daniel Boone.

Brown Escaped Slavery At The Age Of 20. After Teaching Himself To Read And Write, He Achieved Success As An International Lecturer, Speaking Against Slavery In The United States, Canada And Europe.

On July 27, 1853, Brown's Novel, Clotel; or the President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States, Was Published In London, England. Clotel, The First Novel By An African American, Told The Story Of President Thomas Jefferson's Daughter, Borne By His Black Housekeeper, Sally Hemming.

When The Book Was Published In The United States, In 1864, The Title Was Changed To Clotelle: A Tale of the Southern States. All References To The Father Of Clotelle Had Been Removed.

A Prolific Man Of Letters, Brown Was Not Only The First African American Novelist, But Also The First Black American Playwright, The First African American To Write A Book Of Travels (Three Years In Europe, Published In 1852), And Among The First African Americans To Write History.

After The Civil War, Despite No Formal Training, Brown Practiced Medicine. He Died In Chelsea, Massachusetts In 1884.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

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