Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom · Concept
Family Separation
The book details the painful reality of families being torn apart, as seen in the sale of William's parents, brother, and sister, and Ellen's separation from her mother, underscoring the cruelty of the slave system.
The book details the painful reality of families being torn apart, as seen in the sale of William's parents, brother, and sister, and Ellen's separation from her mother, underscoring the cruelty of the slave system.
Ellen was given away as a wedding gift at age 11, separated from her mother; the chapter also describes the sale of children from their parents.
Family Separation is one of the patterns Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William Craft returns to. The chapter notes above are from this edition’s companions — open those chapters to see how the book stages the idea rather than treating the theme as a slogan.