Harriet Jacobs was a fighter. After escaping slavery, she published a book documenting her life, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. She would become the first person to openly speak of sexual abuse in the system of slavery, generally making her a provocative figure even among other abolitionists. Her diligence is seen not only in her incredible story of escape, but also in her determination to expose the horrible abuses of slavery.
Born into slavery, Harriet continually had to thwart sexual advances made by her master. She married a single white businessman in the area, hoping this would cause her abusive master to stop. Even after having two children, she was still aggressively pursued by her enslaver.
Harriet's escape took several years. After fleeing the plantation, she lived in a small crawlspace above the porch built by her grandmother and uncle. This way, she could watch her children and remain in hiding, only leaving the safety of the crawlspace to exercise under cover of darkness. Eventually, she managed her escape to the north.
Her husband would purchase the freedom of her children, after prodding from Harriet. After escape, Harriet published her autobiography, but her inclusion of the difficult topic of sexual abuse turned off some white abolitionists. Harriet was actively involved in the abolition movement before the Civil War. During the war, she raised money for black refugees. After the war, she also worked to improve the conditions for the newly freed African American population in the south.