It is a crazy thing to try and grasp the reality of being born into slavery. Having to be born into a hard life from the beginning, having parents who have no rights to their own life, and observing that too was what was in store for you. Your pinnacle moment would remain in the orchestra you are chained to, with a white Massa for a conductor.
My mother has always said, "when you know better, you do better" relating to when you have an understanding of a concept of higher morale then you must emulate. But what happens when you do not have a sighting of the "better", or in this analogy, "freedom"? The same blinding mental calcification that you say caused many slaves to not even conceptualize that they were slaves. Your first taste of freedom was meant to be experienced with your two brothers, Henry and Ben. They ultimately changed their minds, leaving you to make the journey on your own. Your will to continue the journey of traveling 90 miles north to Pennslyvania alone is inconceivable, untested.
That is not even the beginning because you not only reached freedom but you went back. This is such a powerful part of your story and of the legend that you will be remembered for the remainder of all time. You made thirteen missions to bring 70 more enslaved people with you to freedom. Freedom was not a coveted fruit that you wanted to keep to yourself. You wanted black people to have it be their own realities. Staring you in your face each of the thirteen missions were the risks of death and capture. The missions were then made longer with the creation of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The act allowed fugitive and free slaves in the north to be captured and enslaved in the south. This act forced your missions to draw out even further north into Canada.
None of the hurdles you had to face ever caused your mission to become derailed. This level of mindpower is mind-boggling. Nothing could hold a candle to your agenda and lifework. You went the entirety of your life trusting that God was right there with you every step you took. Having that belief gave you a fearlessness that is astounding, and only biblically heard of. Fear has long been a part of the black story with a harrowing history of oppression. It is still walking our streets and teasing us with images of agony. It is the fearless individuals who are reminding our people of the voice that they are entitled to and the lives they are called to live. It is because of these activists why we are once again in a fight calling for our true liberation. Figures holding the spirit that you held in leading those to freedom have allowed me the sight of your fight being continued. It is through such strength and determination that a force is created.
Sincerely,
Kayla Mary Jane
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