MAAP | Mapping the African American Past

Runaway slave posters

Before slavery was abolished, newspapers and magazines often carried advertisements like this one from 1784, offering rewards for the recapture of people who had fled from bondage. Though he was born free and was well-educated, Theodore S. Wright risked his own home and well-being every time he helped a runaway reach freedom in Canada.

Source: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture /General Research and Reference Division/The New York Public Library


Produced by CCNMTL, Chase, Teachers College, and CCI