Jamie's Decisions: The Jerry Rescue
Jamie's Decisions: The Jerry Rescue
Jamie’s Decisions follows Jamie, a skilled laborer and formerly enslaved person. He escaped slavery in Virginia and found refuge in Syracuse, New York. His world is shattered when the federal government passes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the U.S. Marshals capture his formerly enslaved friend, Jerry, under the law. Now, Jamie must decide whether to put his own freedom at risk to help the community save Jerry. This graphic novel focuses on the Jerry Rescue, an event that happened in Syracuse on October 1, 1851. A group of abolitionists forcibly liberated William “Jerry” Henry from U.S. custody after he was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Jamie’s Decisions explores the Jerry Rescue and the Syracuse abolitionist movement to highlight how community members – sometimes with different motives – can come together to seek justice for all. After reading this book, you will understand how people with diverse motives can come together to resist unjust laws, how the Jerry Rescue influenced the abolitionist movement in Syracuse, and how acts of collective defiance contributed to the broader struggle for freedom and justice in the United States.
Details
24-page book
2 historian interviews
15 workbook questions
For grades 7-12
