Певица Коринн Бейли Рэй посвятила песню истории аболициониста Харриет Джейкобс

I was so inspired by Harriet Jacobs that I wrote a song about her: Corinne Bailey Rae on her history hero Singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae chooses Harriet Jacobs (c1813–97) as her history hero In profile Harriet Jacobs was an African-American abolitionist who was best known for her memoir, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), originally published under a pseudonym. Forced to go into hiding after being sexually harassed when she was enslaved, she fled North Carolina for the ‘free North’ and founded two schools for other escapees from the South. A mother-of-two, she died aged around 84. When did you first hear about Jacobs? When I was 14 my aunt sent me an anthology of Afro-American classics, one of which was written by Harriet – it really struck a chord with me. What kind of woman was she? Harriet was born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina. When her original owner died, she was bequeathed to the woman’s three-year-old niece, Mary Matilda Norcom. However, Mary’s physician father, Dr James Norcom, became her de facto owner and she constantly had to fight off his sexual advances. I’m sure many women in her shoes would have felt their situation was hopeless. But she went on to have children of her own with another white man, who later became a politician, out of wedlock. She was a determined woman, with a powerful sense of right and wrong, and ultimately managed to become a free woman. - Read more | I visited one of America's "most haunted" historical sites. What I found there astonished me What made Jacobs a hero? Her refusal to succumb to Norcom’s vile sexual advances. When this ogre threatened to sell her children into slavery unless she bent to his will, she fled and spent the next seven years hiding in a 3ft-high garret under a storeroom roof adjacent to her grandmother’s house. She arranged for her children to live with their great-grandmother, but could only glimpse them through a crack in the roof of her garret ‘prison’. It was only after escaping to the north in 1842, with the help of anti-slavery activists, that she was reunited with her children. She experienced so much tragedy in her life. For instance, she fell in love with a free black man who wanted to buy her freedom and marry her, but Norcom forbade her continuing the relationship. What was Jacobs’ finest hour? First, showing such strength, bravery and self-belief while being cooped up in this ‘crawl space’ for all those years – being unable to exercise for so long left her with health problems and afterwards she walked with a limp. I was so moved by her plight that I visited Edenton and wrote a song, ‘Peach Velvet Sky’, about her. Second, writing her powerful memoir – she learned to read and write as a child but kept it secret. Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about her? No. I think she was a wholly admirable woman! Can you see any parallels between Jacobs’ life and your own? Her story helped give me an insight into the lives of the ancestors on my father’s side. They were also enslaved people, most likely working on sugar plantations in St Kitts. What would you ask Jacobs if you could meet her? I’d like to know what being denied the chance to marry the free African-American man she loved did to her as a person, and how she survived being separated from her children for so long. Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter. She topped the charts with her self-titled debut album, which she will be performing at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 October. Her first children’s book, Put Your Records On, is out now This article was first published in the August 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine Authors York Membery is a regular contributor to BBC History Magazine, the Daily Mail and Sunday Times among other publications. York, who lives in London, worked on the Mirror, Express and Times before turning freelance. He studied history at Cardiff University and the Institute of Historical Research, and has a History PhD from Maastricht University.