David Walker's Appeal

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses enslavement and racism.

David Walker was a free Black man born in Wilmington, North Carolina. Some sources place his date of birth in 1796 or 1797, while others date his birth to 1785. His father was enslaved and died before he was born. However, his mother was a free woman, and American law indicated that children would inherit the free or enslaved status of the mother. Despite being a free man, Walker was exposed to all the cruelties and injustices of slavery and racism. Grieved and dismayed by this constant exposure, Walker left Wilmington as a young man, claiming, “I cannot remain where I must hear their chains continually, and where I must encounter the insults of their hypocritical enslaver” (6). He spent some years traveling through the United States and finally settled in Boston, where he was married and became the owner of a secondhand clothing shop. Although he was removed from the abuses of slavery, Walker saw that Black people in Boston still faced significant discrimination and disadvantage. He became involved in various organizations in Boston that were speaking out against racism and slavery, including becoming a founding member of the Massachusetts General Colored Association.