![]() House, and both her youth and her gender made her an atypical runaway,Įspecially a successful one. ![]() Judge was only about 22 years old when she fled the president’s Think a lot of people today can relate to that.” Young black woman standing up to the president of the United States - I “Every time I think about her, I feel her strength,” Dunbar said. President, also enabled her to avoid the Washingtons’ efforts to have Take the enormous risk of escaping from the new nation’s first Judge’s grit and determination, the qualities that allowed her to “It makes us ask the question: How free is free when slavery exists around you?” she said. Thinking about what Judge’s life must have been like in thoseĬircumstances made Dunbar consider the lives of both enslaved and freeīlack women and men of the time, which she describes as “hard, Never caught constantly looking over her shoulder for the Her life amounted to for nearly half a century was that she was simply “I chose the title of the book very deliberately,” Dunbar said. Who never managed to have her recaptured, Judge remained a fugitive and But although she long outlived the Washingtons, New Hampshire, where she would go on to marry, raise children and liveįor the next 50 years. She boarded a ship and was taken on a five-day journey to Portsmouth, Large community of free blacks in Philadelphia, Judge stored herīelongings with someone before fleeing the president’s house. Mount Vernon, she packed her belongings as well. Washingtons’ account and, as the family got ready for a trip back to She bought herself a new pair of shoes on the Judge (also called Oney) prepared for her escape with some careful Martha Washington went in attempting to recapture her. Recounts Judge’s remarkable life and the lengths to which George and “And she would never return to that home.”ĭunbar tells Judge’s story in a new book, Never Caught, Professor of Black American Studies and History at the University ofĭelaware. “She ran away from the president’s house while the Washingtons wereĮating dinner,” said Dunbar, who is the Blue and Gold Distinguished Historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar calls “that final step” toward freedom. George Washington’s official residence in Philadelphia - took what May 21, 1796, when a young woman named Ona Judge - a slave in President African American Public Humanities Ph.D. ![]() If you love biographies, history, stories about remarkable women, or really exciting thrillers, “Never Caught” you need to read this book. On that note, we learn some not-so-savory things about George Washington, which makes the meat of this story an even bigger reason for gleefulness. Thanks to Dunbar, it’s easy to feel the busyness of Manhattan, to absorb the fear Judge surely felt, and to picture the elegant drawing rooms of the Washington home. Of course, “Never Caught” is all true.īut Judge’s astounding, audacious story isn’t the only thing author Erica Armstrong Dunbar brings to vivid life: she also sets the tone by explaining the times in which Judge lived, and what life was like for slaves and whites alike. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a thriller as heart-pounding as the one I found in this book. Judge surely knew what was going on, but when she learned that she would be permanently gifted as a wedding present to Martha’s moody granddaughter, she could stand things no longer.Īnd so, as the Washingtons dined on a Saturday evening in May, 1796, Oney Judge slipped out the door and ran … BOOK REVIEW: 'Never Caught' by Erica Armstrong Dunbar - The Washington Informer Closeīut there was a twist, for Judge and for the Washingtons: laws in Pennsylvania mandated freedom for any slave living in the state for six continuous months, meaning that the Washingtons would shuttle their slaves between Philadelphia and Virginia, to “reset” their status.
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