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Second Daughter : The Story of a Slave... by Mildred Pitts Walter
Booklist review - www.ala.org/booklist
"The history is dramatic: in 1781 a slave woman, Mum Bett, took her owner to court and won her freedom under the Massachusetts Constitution. Her story is told in the voice of her fictional younger sister, Aissa, who describes the events leading up to that historic trial--what it was like to be a slave, to be sold away from home, to work for someone who saw you only as property, to hide your true self. The plot meanders, and the characterization is thin: through Aissa's eyes, people are pretty much saints or villains, though the author does show that Bett holds on to a strong sense of her inner worth. What readers will respond to are the facts of Bett's life and the bitter truth of the young slave's commentary. For the powerful leaders who are fighting the Revolutionary War and hammering out the Constitution, the sisters are invisible. As the action builds to the climax of the trial, Aissa raises the elemental question: if the great new Constitution says that all men are created equal, does "men" include black men and all women?" Hazel Rochman Copyright© 1996, American Library Association. All rights reserved
This book was published in 1996 and can be purchased by clicking above on the title for above amazon.com or below for barnes and noble.com:
SECOND DAUGHTER; THE STORY OF A SLAVE GIRL