1. William Lloyd Garrison - Publisher of the newspaper "The Liberator" we was the most outspoken and most vocal of all abolitionists. He often wrote in corse and blunt language that left no room to be misunderstood. This short excerpt shows his resolve and his passion: "I am in earnest. I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a single inch; and I will be heard!" .
2. Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass, (1818-1895), was the leading spokesman of African Americans in the 1800's. Born a slave, Douglass became a noted reformer, author, and orator. He devoted his life to the abolition of slavery and the fight for black rights.
3. Harriet Tubman - Harriet Tubman was an African American whose daring rescues helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom. She became the most famous leader of the underground railroad, which aided slaves fleeing to the free states or to Canada. Blacks called her Moses, after the Biblical figure who led the Jews from Egypt. .
4. Sojourner Truth - Like Harriet Tubman, Truth was born into slavery (with the given name Isabella) and had no formal education. She fled the last of a series of masters in 1827, and several years later, in response to what she described as a command from God, she became an itinerant preacher and took the name Sojourner Truth. Among her most memorable appearances was at an 1851 women's rights conference in Akron, Ohio: in her famous "Ain't I a woman?" speech she forcefully attacked the hypocrisies of organized religion, white privilege and everything in between.
5. Nat Turner - Nat Turner, a black slave and preacher, led the most famous slave revolt in United States history. In 1831, Turner and from 60 to 70 other slaves killed about 60 whites in Virginia. The victims included the family of Joseph Travis, Turner's owner. More whites died during the rebellion led by Turner than in any other in the nation's history. The Virginia militia captured and hanged about 20 of the slaves, including Turner.
