In 1770, the slave Esperança Garcia bravely penned a letter to the
governor of Piauí state, in Brazil, describing how she and her children
were being mistreated and requesting permission to return to the farm
where the rest of her family was living.
Before she wrote her letter, Esperança Garcia lived on a cotton farm run
by Jesuit priests, where she learned to read and write -- a rare
opportunity for a woman, especially a slave. But one day she was
separated from her husband and older children and taken with her two
little ones to be a cook in the home of Captain Antonio Vieira de Couto,
where she and the other slaves were beaten and denied even the freedom
to attend church.
In despair, Esperança Garcia wrote to the governor about her terrible
situation, asking if she and her young children could return to the
farm. She waited each day for a reply, never giving up hope. And
although she never received an answer, she is remembered today for being
the courageous slave who wrote the first letter of appeal in
Afro-Brazilian Brazil. Commemorating the date of the letter's discovery,
September 6th has become Black Consciousness Day in Piauí state.
Beautifully illustrated, this moving picture book provides a very
personal look at the tragic history of slavery in the Americas.