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(NewsNation) — David Walker, born free, had a revolutionary objective: to incite Southern slaves to fight for their freedom through his writing and to shape discussions on race and slavery in the U.S.
The anti-slavery activist was born around 1796 to a free Black mother and an enslaved Black father in Wilmington, North Carolina. In following the state’s laws, he inherited his mother’s liberated status; however, it didn’t keep him from witnessing the horrors of slavery and experiencing racism.
He left Wilmington between 1815 and 1820, traveling the South and West and spending time in Charleston, South Carolina, which housed a large population of free Blacks. By 1825, he settled in Boston, where he became the owner of a successful secondhand clothing shop and played a vital role in Boston’s Black community.
In 1826, Walker married Eliza Butler. They moved to Beacon Hill, a free Black community in Boston, in 1827. The Walkers had two children, Lydia Ann Walker, who died of tuberculosis before the age of two in 1830, and Edwin Garrison Walker.
During his time in Boston, Walker served in the Massachusetts General Colored Association, which is considered to be the first Black abolitionist organization. Additionally, Walker became an agent and writer for “Freedom’s Journal,” the first Black newspaper published in the U.S.
Historians believe this led Walker to realize the power of the written word to create change through newspapers and political pamphlets. This realization likely inspired him to write his “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” in 1829.
Walker’s “Appeal” urged Black resistance to slavery and racism and called for equal rights for all and the immediate abolition of enslaved Blacks. The pamphlet, which was filled with biblical, classical and other historical references, including the Declaration of Independence, was written to be read aloud to groups of free and enslaved Blacks; he hoped to inspire people to action.
Walker smuggled copies of his pamphlets to Southern states on ships leaving New York and Boston. His writing later circulated throughout Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Additionally, Walker’s “Appeal” attacked slavery’s defenders, including the enslavers themselves, the government and churches. This caused controversy and fear in the South and put Walker’s life in jeopardy.
The pamphlet alarmed white slave owners, and they made attempts to silence Walker. A $1,000 reward was offered for Walker’s death, and $10,000 was promised if he could be captured alive. Friends urged him to move to Canada, but Walker refused.
When Walker died in August 1830, contemporaries believed Walker was poisoned. However, historians later argued that he died of tuberculosis. Walker was 33 when he died, according to city records.
Walker’s writing and legacy lived on, inspiring the thinking of abolitionists and civil rights activists for years to come. His son, Edward, carried on his work and became the first Black man elected to the Massachusetts General Assembly in 1866.