Walker's Appeal, with a Brief Sketch of His Life

Book excerpt: This book documents the life and ideas of David Walker, an American abolitionist, writer, and anti-slavery activist. Despite his father being enslaved, his mother's status as a free woman ensured his freedom as well (a legal principle known as partus sequitur ventrem). While living in Boston, Massachusetts, he collaborated with the African Grand Lodge (later named Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Jurisdiction of Massachusetts) to publish this book. It serves as a rallying call for black unity and resistance against slavery, exposing the injustices and brutalities of the institution and urging individuals to act according to religious and political principles. However, some were alarmed and fearful of the pamphlet's potential impact, particularly in the South where it was met with strong opposition, leading to the enactment of laws that prohibited circulation of "seditious publications."