David Walker
David Walker (September 28, 1796 – August 6, 1830)[N 1] was an African-American abolitionist, writer, and anti-slavery activist. Though his father was a slave, his mother was free so therefore he was free (partus sequitur ventrem). In 1829, while l
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David Walker (September 28, 1796 – August 6, 1830)[N 1] was an African-American abolitionist, writer, and anti-slavery activist. Though his father was a slave, his mother was free so therefore he was free (partus sequitur ventrem). In 1829, while living in Boston, Massachusetts, with the assistance of the African Grand Lodge (later named Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Jurisdiction of Massachusetts), he published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World,[4] a call for black unity and self-help in the fight against the oppressive and unjust slavery.
The appeal brought attention to the abuses and inequities of slavery and the responsibility of individuals to act according to religious and political principles. At the time, some people were aghast and fearful of the reaction that the pamphlet would provoke. Many abolitionists thought Walker's views were extreme.
Historians and liberation theologians cite the Appeal as an influential political and social document of the 19th century. Walker exerted a radicalizing influence on the abolitionist movements of his day and inspired future black leaders and activists.
His son, Edward G. Walker, was an attorney and one of the first two black men elected into the Massachusetts State Legislature, in 1866.
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