SAVE THE SLAVES! 1 Slavery kills me Once there lived a girl who lived in Mississippi, probably eleven years of age, well we will get to that point in a second, she lived with her ‘‘masters’’ and she was a slave and slaves didn’t know their birthdays and they were not allowed to. Slavery was soon going to end she hoped and and Kelly was sure that they were gonna win the war, she could feel it in her heart but, she still was a slave so she had to stay with her ‘‘masters’’. Her Mama and Papa died, her dad died because a group of white people who snuck up on him and attacked him. Her mom was so depressed without him she wouldn’t eat drink or sleep and, she cried all night saying, ‘‘Lord why did this happen to me!’‘ Soon this woman died when her daughter was about two because of a sickness. The ‘‘masters’’ never knew how old she was when her dad died and, they didn’t need to know. Each night she cried herself to sleep and, her ‘‘masters’’ told her to Be quiet you slave girl! After they said that to her she just felt even more sad and she hid her head in her pillow and cried some more. Now I know this might get a little annoying BUT, this girl was lonely and 2 Save The Slaves she lost her dad and, her mom and even her ‘‘masters’’ were really mean to her. Anyway, her Mama and her Papa had never named her so when she was about nine she gave herself a first name: Kelly, and she also wanted a middle name to so she gave herself the middle name: Elizabeth she liked that name too. For her last name she took the name of her masters: McCoy. Kelly Elizabeth McCoy! She loved it and, she thought it had a ring to it. Even though Kelly didn’t like her masters she still called them Mama and Papa because she didn’t have a Mama or a Papa. School and church Every Sunday Kelly snuck up to church, she liked going to church BUT, she wasn’t treated fairly and SHE DIDN’T LIKE IT!All she wanted was to have some peace but, just because she was black she wasn’t treated fairly. Soon she chose to go to school well, a black school that had kids who snuck up there like she did with church. She liked her school but, she wanted it to be a black and white school, every day she prayed that white kids would come, she wanted to have white folks in her school. Her teacher adored her, every day at the end of SAVE THE SLAVES! the day she would have a note ready for her saying Dear Kelly I adore you, everybody in the class loves you. Please stay here until you graduate. Thank you, Ms. Mc-Milly Kelly loved her notes and hid them in a cupboard that no one knew about but her, well, at least she hoped but, she really wanted to go because her “masters’’ were treating her worse and worse. She said to Ms. Mc-Milly, “ You have always been so nice to me umm, but, ... My “ masters’’ are treating me worse and worse and I can’t stand it any more! “Well, I can’t keep you from going but, tell me you will be safe,”...Kelly butted in “yes I will, I will because I know you will be praying!” She left without telling her “ masters’’ that she had gone because they beat her a lot and if they found out she would be killed. No more Mississippi She left Mississippi at night so she could have a good head-start. She traveled at night and hid in the day, she did not want to be seen. Sometimes she felt sad and homesick but she kept on moving and also sometimes she wanted to go back to her old sad home but, then she knew her Mama and Papa would not be proud. When she finally got to freedom (which was Ohio ) she felt worse, she had know idea of where she should go! She felt so sad. But soon she found an orphan home, she 3 4 Save The Slaves thought that they would take good care of her. For a while they did take care of her and she liked it, ( and it never hurts to have a few friends and she did,) but she still missed her Mama and Papa like crazy, and still cried herself to sleep, she wanted a real Mama and Papa. She set off again, but she first said good bye to everyone in the orphan home then the next day she left the orphan home. Hello Aunt goodbye Uncle She said to her self I should knock on doors to see if someone will let me live with them, I would be very lucky if someone or two people or more did let me live with them! But then she told herself that she should not get too pumped up. She felt a little sad she would be talking to strangers, but she knew Mama and Papa would approve because she was desperate. When she knocked on one house a very Pretty woman came to the door, she said get out of my house! I don’t want no slave in my house! I don’t care who you are! Now, GET! And with that she slammed the door. Now Kelly who was feeling very sad scared and let down and sadly walked to the next house, scared to open the door a nice slim lady opened the door. All at once she said, oh, you poor thing! You are so skinny and, oh you just look oh come on let’s get you a shower and a nice meal and get you a nice comfy bed. At dinner, Kelly, (who was feeling much better.) found out that the slim lady, who’s name was Marlene, had a husband, his name SAVE THE SLAVES! was Jeff. Later she found out that they were related, Marlene was Mama’s Sister! So Marlene and Jeff, were her Aunt and Uncle! WOW! After a few days of fun and laughter Uncle Jeff got really sick, so sick they thought he would die, but every day Kelly and Marlene tried to cheer him up and Kelly always said “ it’s the time we spent with him that kept him alive. ” Well for a while that is what kept him alive, but then they ran out of medicine, and a week and a half later without medicine he died, but before he died he gave Kelly a locket, when she opened it on one side she saw Jeff and on the other she saw Marlene, when Kelly felt sad it always gave her hope that at least something good would happen soon. Marlene and Kelly cried all day and all night until they fell asleep. They ended up getting rid of everything that reminded them of Jeff, but Marlene couldn’t bare put away their wedding photo. After a long time, they kind of forgot about Jeff, but never longer then two or three days. I feel great! One day, after a long hour of chores, Kelly went to Marlene and asked if she could go to school. Marlene (who had been listening to blasting music and singing along in her beautiful voice) said, “what was that sugar plum?” I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL, said Kelly a little louder. “Well sugar, you know, colored folks ah... they can’t go to some schools” “ I know, I know but, I really want to go”... Her voice trailed off. “But, said Marlene (pretty confidently)I think we can find a way!” “WHAT DID 5 6 Save The Slaves YOU SAY???’’ said Kelly. “ I said I think, you can go to school! “Really???” “Darling I’ll do anything for you!” Thanks so so much! said Kelly. Are you sure????????????????????? The next day they looked on a map that had schools, and they would say wether colored folks could go. “Marlene, Kelly asked, why are black and white folks split up?” “Oh honey, you know, this world is messed up, we colored folks have got to change it someday. If you don’t want to wait for slavery to end then why don’t you try to stop it in a place...” “well, Kelly butted in are you sure?” I’m doin’ it! “But Kelly, where are you gonna do it,” asked Lilly. “I, think she should do it where she was a slave,” said Annie ( also known as Jane.) “Well... I’m gonna do it where Jane said!” Kelly now was in high school, she was going to try to free slaves in Mississippi and her friends were impressed and a bit sad they didn’t come up with the idea, but Kelly was so smart she ended up skipping three Grades. Of course her friends knew that though, not that SAVE THE SLAVES! Kelly told them ( she was a very humble girl) her friends asked her if she skipped grades, and she said, many of them. Well, anyway after long years of finding out how to get to Mississippi (and not get killed) she finally found a date to go and Marlene raised enough money so she could go. Kelly left without even telling her friends. She was scared that someone might be spying on her. What!!!!!!!!!!!???????? “Whew! I’m hot,” said a man. “Don’t make a sound, hush!” said the other! “They might find out were spying on them!” Kelly was helping a small child, Kelly had now rescued more than two -Hundred people from slavery! She was very talented. The little child was no more than seven, and she was going to go on a huge adventure! Kelly was hoping that no one would follow them, but Kelly didn’t know she was wrong! The men were getting very close. They were not trying to hurt her, they were trying to get a picture of her. They would get a lot of money for it. “Snapshot!” One of the men said that when they took the picture, “you just gave us away!” Said the other. Kelly turned around to see two men getting a good look at her. Kelly was speechless, 7 8 Save The Slaves and now they were taking a picture of the child Kelly was rescuing! Before Kelly even thought about one thing, she grabbed the camera from the two men grabbed “the child” and dashed away from the men. Soon as Kelly found a pond she through the camera straight into it! By then the men had reached Kelly and the child, (O.K., I’m sure you’re tired of hearing “the child” this, “the child” that Kelly named Beth. When the men got close again she ran towards them and said right in there ear, with a fierce face so fierce that they could not look at her much longer. She said “if you don’t hurt me I won’t hurt you and I could make you some pancakes and waffles!” So with that the two men ran off as fast as they could, Kelly said with a chuckle “they could be on the track team!” Beth, who could not stop laughing at that joke started rolling on the ground and was getting covered with leaves. “Well, would you look at that now I have a dinner Taco that’s covered in leaves!” And, with that they walked home safely. Well, you know how Kelly lived with Marlene? Kelly thought that Marlene would not approve with leaving Beth in an orphan home because, Beth did become attached to Kelly quite quickly! After a few minutes of silence Beth broke it all “Miss Kelly, where will I go when we get to the city?” This is GREAT, Kelly thought I can tell her now! “You will live with me and my aunt Marlene!” “Oh, wow I’ll live with you!” “That’s right!” said Kelly. And they talked all the way home and it seemed as though they always knew each other.