Militant Abolitionist/Vigilance Member, William Lambert, Arrested slaveowner

06/01/15 • 3 min

Join The Gist of Freedom, www.blackhistoryblog.com, as we welcome William Lambert's descendant Christina Streety-Napier! Lambert was a friend of radical abolitionist John Brown and, like the more militant abolitionist leader Henry Highland Garnet, Lambert called for the slaves to rise up against their masters. At times Lambert very publicly helped fugitive slaves escape to Windsor, Canada, which was just across the Detroit River from the city of Detroit. Lambert’s most famous incident occurred in 1847, when he had the owner of fugitive slave Robert Cromwell thrown in jail so that Cromwell could escape to Canada by boat. Abolitionist and civil rights activist William Lambert was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1817, the son of a manumitted father and a freeborn mother. As a young man Lambert was educated by abolitionist Quakers. Twenty-three year old Lambert arrived in Detroit, Michigan in 1840 as a cabin boy on a steamboat, and eventually started a profitable tailoring and dry cleaning business. Upon his death Lambert left behind an estate estimated at $100,000. Lambert was also a founder of the St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and served as one of its wardens. I

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Twelve Years A Slave, Solomon Northup descendant, Irene Zahos..Call To Action!

Twelve Years A Slave, Solomon Northup descendant, Irene Zahos..Call To Action! Join The Gist of Freedom as we welcome Irene Zahos! Mrs. Zahos is promoting a CALL TO ACTION on behalf of Solomon Northup, her great, great grandfather. The Solomon Northup Legacy is initiating a campaign to have Solomon recognized for his activism role to end slavery. His book, Twelve Years a Slave, was a catalyst that prompted people in the mid 1800's to look at slavery under the most extreme conditions of humanity and denigration of the human spirit. www.blackhistoryblog.com www.blackhistoryuniversity.com Solomon Northup upon his release and rescue from bondage became involved with the Underground Railroad acting as a conductor taking escaped slaves from Vermont into the freedom of Canada. He selflessly believed that "all men were created equal and that they should all; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As we look at the 21st century and with Solomon's book having been adapted to the 2013 Academy Award winning film, 12 Years a Slave, a new conversation has become engaged with a CALL TO ACTION giving voice to another hidden aspect of slavery called, human trafficking. The international viewing of the film has encouraged action and some positive results through the work of the UN-ILO. It has also brought American History into the limelight bringing attention to America's Slave History on a plateau that had not been acknowledged before. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) partnered with New Regency, Penguin Books and the filmmakers to distribute copies of the acclaimed film, book and study guide to America's public high schools.