Dear Miss. Charlotte Forten,

You were quite the impressive young lady. Although you may have thought yourself to be of “utter insignificance” and to have known very little, I beg to differ. I think you were very well educated for a young lady of only seventeen years. Women who don't know enough would not be reading literature like Jane Eyre and discussing mature topics such as slavery with adults much their senior. I believe that you have nothing to be ashamed about. I wished you would have walked the streets of Salem, MA with pride knowing that you were an intelligent, sophisticated, and selfless young lady who had taken advantage of her freedom to educate other freed African American students. I am sorry that you had to live during times when a man’s highest crime was being born with beautiful brown skin. I am sorry that you could not witness the change that would come after your death in 1914. However, I thank you for journaling your experiences. It is because of people like you that students like me in 2017 can better understand what it was like to live through slavery and the 19th century, especially as a black woman.

Sincerely,

Ruthie Lewis