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By: Benjamin Gilliam, 

Sammy Garcia,

Joshua Luke Mullins, and

Alexander Trace Smith-

Walton III Jr.

       My name is Tyrone Walker. I am going to tell you a story today, 

about my great uncle Jabari Lee. He was a slave for a cotton farmer 

down in southern Louisiana. His slave owner was a man named 

Alexander Jet Lee, a violent ex- military general who enjoyed abusing 

his slaves. 

     The young man was a kind, hard-working gentleman that always 

did what he was told. He had a tragic life, never knowing his mom 

because she died at birth. His father stayed in trouble with the slave 

owner, because he was educated and talked back to the ridiculous 

instructions that he was ordered. 

         One day, as he was in the fields, he accidentally dropped a full 

basket of cotton into the mud. The overseer yelled at him and began to 

whip him. Jabari's father was fed up with the years of whipping and bad 

treatment, so he decided to fight back. When the overseer reared back to 

land another hit, Jabari's father quickly reached up and took the whip 

out of his hands and began to pull the overseer off of the horse. 

         As he was falling, the overseer reached for his pistol. he pulled it 

out and shot Jabari's father in the neck. The overseer then gave the 

body to the plantation owner to be burned in front of all of the slaves at 

noon the next day. Jabari's father was the only thing that was good in 

his terrible life, and he knew that there was no point in staying. He 

knew that he couldn't bear to watch his father's body to be burned. So 

he decided to head to the North.

         He went back inside to his cabin and packed. This didn't take very 

long, because he had nothing, besides a ripped piece of purple cloth, 

from his mom's favorite dress.   He finished working in the fields, and 

saved a little bit of his dinner for the trip. Everyone packed into their 

cabin. It was almost time for him to escape, and he was anxious. What if 

he got caught trying to leave? He would be beaten until he couldn't take 

anymore, and would be beaten even more after that. He laid his head 

down and pretended like he was sleeping, but he stayed up waiting. He 

waited until he heard no more noise, and then quietly snuck up to the 

door, avoiding all the people on the floor. He eased the door open. At 

first, he walked slowly, then, when he was out of the farm, he ran. He 

followed the North Star to where he had heard that a nearby abolitionist 

was, and knocked on the door. He said a quick prayer that he didn't go 

to the wrong house. An elderly man answered the door, with a coachgun 

in his hand and stared Jabari up and down, then smiled, and Jabari saw 

he was a friend.

   Jabari loved the old man's house. For the first time in years, he 

actually got a full, hot meal. Given the opportunity, he would've gladly 

stayed there, but he knew that that dream was nothing more than a 

dream, seeing as he was still so close to the old plantation. The old man 

opened a closet and pushed open a false backing on it that opened to a 

medium-sized room with a bed. The bed was amazing to Jabari. It was 

made of real feathers and actually had covers. The next morning, he felt 

well rested. The man told him another abolitionist will help him get 

across to Canada. Their plan was to disguise Jabari as the abolitionist's 

servant and sneak onto a steamboat, that will take him up the 

Mississippi and into Canada.

     After a fairly long trip West to the docks by horseback, he found the 

man that he was looking for. Ushering people onto the boat, he caught 

Jabari immediately and took him into the boat's locker room. He tossed 

him a uniform and said "Put these on. Quickly." Once he was dressed, 

Jabari walked onto the deck and stood beside the captain.

   "The old man told me you'd be coming. You ain't that hard 

to notice, seeing as you're head and shoulders above everyone 

else." Jabari stayed silent. He still had a feeling of uneasiness 

around white people. "Well, no matter." The captain handed 

him a mop. "You might as well blend in while you're here. The 

deck needs a good cleaning."

    Jabari hurried off and began to thoroughly clean the deck. 

Many times he looked up at the grand river out in front of him 

and wondered how far away he was from Canada. His mind 

was filled with questions about how his life would unfold as a 

Canadian. How would he make a living? Where would he live? 

How would the people there treat him? He'd heard stories of 

happiness and peace in Canada, but he always had a small 

part of his mind that questioned everything.  

   As he was cleaning constantly, he couldn't help but look out 

at the scenery in front of him. It was always changing as he 

went further up the river. When he started out, all he saw were 

farms and plantations, and he saw others just like he was, 

those slaves wishing for freedom from that torture. The only 

difference between them and Jabari is that he pursued his 

dream, and this gave him a sense of pride and hope. 

   Further North, he saw the plantations change from cotton to 

other cash crops like indigo, corn, tobacco, sugar canes, wheat, 

and rice. The only time he saw anyone moving anywhere, they 

were either walking or riding a horse, occasionally with a 

wagon on the back.

   The land was mostly flat down south, dry and hot that 

summer, but cooler than down in Louisiana. He guessed that it 

was around Kentucky that the hills started appearing, first 

small and then getting larger the further up he went.

     As Jabari crossed over where the Ohio threaded into the Mississippi, 

he felt better. He realized that he was halfway there, and he was only 

getting closer. Almost immediately after he crossed the Ohio's mouth, 

he noticed a change in the view of the surrounding territory. There were 

all of a sudden more factories and less farms, more horses and wagons 

and less walking people, more paved streets and less grass. The land 

was flatter and the climate was milder, with more wind and less heat. 

Jabari enjoyed it here, gave him a break from the sun beating down on 

him. It picked up his mood and Jabari felt unstoppable. Then, the boat 

stopped at the dock.

     Jabari's eyes lit up when he saw the new passenger step on the deck. 

It was Mr. Alexander Jet Lee, His old plantation owner. He was positive 

that Mr. Lee would recognize him, because of the trouble his father 

stayed in. What would he do? Jabari knew he would be caught. He was a 

dead man.

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