Mumbet was the Rosa Parks of her day. Her venue was a small-town court, rather than a crowded bus. But her bravery in defying the largest landowner in her community is inspiring.
Two months before the last battle of the American Revolution, a black slave known as Mumbet summoned the courage to sue her master, in a bid for her freedom. Though slavery had been ingrained in Massachusetts for well over a century, Mumbet was inspired by the public reading of the state’s ground-breaking Constitution, and its words, “all men are born free and equal.” Her case against the largest landowner in the region attracted the support of two up-and-coming attorneys: Theodore Sedgwick, a friend, and aspiring politician, and Tapping Reeve, the founder of the first law school in America.
In this fast-paced story of racial justice in early America, author Ben Z. Rose paints a portrait of Mumbet against the backdrop of the rise and fall of slavery in New England.
As we search for insight into those who planted the first seeds of abolition, Mumbet reminds us of the courage and sheer grit required to topple an established way of life. She also reminds us that before slavery could be abolished in the South, it needed to be uprooted in the North.
Ben Z. Rose is a New England-based writer, whose books focus on inspirational figures in early American history. In John Stark: Maverick General, Ben brings to life the legendary Patriot commander who survived Indian captivity, before becoming the hero of Bunker Hill and Bennington. The book was chosen by ForeWord Reviews’ quarterly magazine as a finalist for best biography. In Mother of Freedom, Ben explores the life of Mumbet, an African American slave who summoned the courage to take her master to court, in a bid for her freedom. The book was recommended by Choice Reviews as “an insightful account of an unusual lawsuit in post-Revolutionary Massachusetts.”
