William Loren Katz

“One of the earliest known settlements of free African Americans began in 1832 when 385 men, women, and children reached Mercer County, Ohio. These former Virginia slaves, freed in the will of politician John Randolph of Roanoke, traveled by wagon and boat. The will also provided them transportation and two to four thousand acres of fertile Ohio farmland.

When they arrived, the former slaves found they had been cheated out of their land by Randolph's relatives. White citizen of Piqua, Ohio held a meeting and voted to feed and provide work for the pioneers.”
― William Loren Katz, Black Women of the Old West

“Their boundless spirit and strength, and uncommon courage, did more than create charitable, literary, and religious societies. Among the way, the African-American women of the West challenged American bigotry and provided white citizens with vital and sometimes painful lessons in value of democracy, justice, and liberty for all.”
― William Loren Katz, Black Women of the Old West