The Unbelievable Journey of Henry "Box" Brown
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1849, Henry "Box" Brown made one of the most incredible escapes in history. To break free from 33 years of enslavement, he courageously shipped himself in a small wooden box, just 60 centimetres wide, from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, a journey of 350 miles. Enduring hours of near suffocation with only tiny air holes, Brown emerged a free man, determined to live the rest of his life outside the chains of slavery. His story reminds us of the extraordinary lengths people have gone to for freedom and justice.
Henry Brown spent the next 50 years of his life as a free person, becoming a public speaker and abolitionist, sharing his story of survival and resilience. Let his legacy remind us of the enduring power of the human spirit and the relentless pursuit of freedom.
Brown’s journey is a call to recognise that the fight for liberation requires both courage and relentless determination.
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