This image group features portraits of Frederick Douglass, Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, who all learned to read and write while they were enslaved. Each used their gifts to help end slavery.
When Africans were brought to American shores in chains, they brought pieces of Africa with them and used their traditions, music and culture to help them survive.
In the face of extreme punishment for enslaved people and breaking the law for whites, roughly 5 percent of the enslaved population learned to read and write. Letters like the ones written below show the lengths they would go to learn.