Charlotte Forten, abolitionist, poet, champion of liberal causes, and descendant of famous personages, was born free in Philadelphia in 1837. Unwavering in her opposition to slavery and in her desire to devote her life to the education of black people, Forten is important to African-American literary history for her poetry as well as her prose. In an age when the majority of the black writers were producing autobiographies and narratives of their lives as former slaves, Forten kept a journal that illuminates the growth of a young black woman who was unique in her dedication to the progress of her people. Her own freedom did not provide a bed of ease for Forten; rather, she used it to further the cause of freedom for the masses of blacks. Her journal recounts her commitment and gives us a rare glimpse into a world where contact with the famous was as...