Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl
By Tonya Bolden
Harry N. Abrams, 2005. 47 pgs. Biography.

This book is a biographical history of an extraordinary girl who lived as a free born black in New York in the mid 1800’s. The great-niece of the famous abolitionist, Fredrick Douglas, and the daughter of two conductors along the Underground Railroad, Maritcha, lived an exciting life even as a young girl. At fifteen Maritcha and her family managed to survive an assault on their home by rioters during the Civil War draft protests and were forced to flee New York for their lives. At sixteen she went to court to fight for her right to attend an all-white high school—and won. Filled with photographs of Maritcha, her friends, family and illustrations of what life was like in the time she lived, this book is a brief, fascinating slice of history.

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