Chevy Chase Book Club
Master Slave Husband Wife by Iiyon Woo
Wednesday, June 17
6:30pm - 7:30pm
Read/discuss Master Slave Husband Wife by Iiyon Woo.
Join our monthly book club for an engaging discussion of Master Slave Husband Wife by Iiyon Woo.
New members are always welcome. 12 copies of Master Slave Husband Wife by Iiyon Woo is available for check out from the Chevy Chase Library service desk one month prior to the book club meeting date. Please stop by the Chevy Chase Library to grab one of the 12 copies. If we run out of copies, you'd like to pick up a copy at another branch, or you prefer a different book format, you may request a copy here: https://glac.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S185C1971430.
In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.
Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day—among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown.
But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher.
We welcome persons with disabilities to participate in all our programs and events. For accommodations requests, please email LibraryInfo@GlendaleCA.gov.
Visitors to Chevy Chase Library are welcomed to park onsite. Accessible parking and wheelchair access are available in front of the Library. Additional parking is available on East Chevy Chase Dr. (10 additional parking spots). For additional information about this event, please contact Chevy Chase Library at 818-548-2046 or send us an email at LibraryInfo@GlendaleCA.gov.
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