James W. C. Pennington, born Jim Pembroke in 1807, grew up as a slave on a farm in eastern Maryland, where he worked as a stonemason, blacksmith, and carpenter. In 1828, at the age of 21, he left his parents and eleven siblings and escaped to Pennsylvania. Following his conversion to Christianity in 1829, he decided to study for the ministry, which he thought would be the most effective way to contribute to the abolitionist cause. As a result of his education, Pennington rose to prominence as an influential spokesperson for civil rights. He was a delegate to the Negro Convention and the World Anti-Slavery Convention, taught school, became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, was active in various societies, contributed to newspapers, and wrote two short books. Pennington officiated at Frederick Douglass's marriage, and Harriet Beecher Stowe mentions him as an exemplary figure for free African Americans in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Amid accusations of alcoholism, mishandling contributions, and joining the governing body of a church supporting segregation, he resigned his position as pastor of Shiloh Presbyterian Church in New York City in 1855. For the next fifteen years, he held a variety of teaching and church positions and died in obscurity on October 22, 1870.

In The Fugitive Blacksmith Pennington describes his experiences as a slave, the challenges of his escape, and the trials and triumphs of his life in freedom. At the same time he explores master/slave relations, daily life, and social relationships within Maryland slave society. Pennington also conveys his convictions regarding religion, education, and the evils of slavery.

Works Consulted: Andrews, William L., To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 1760-1865, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1986; Andrews, William L., Frances Smith Foster, and Trudier Harris, eds., The Oxford Companion to African American Literature, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997; Ripley, C. Peter, ed., The Black Abolitionist Papers: The United States, 1830-1846, vol. 3, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1986; Smith, Jessie Carney, ed., Notable Black American Men, Detroit: Gale, 1999.

Monique Prince