In 1830 at a clothing store
near the Boston Harbor,
David Walker carefully stitched
a pamphlet
into the lining of a sailor’s coat.
The volume was thin enough
to be completely hidden,
but its content was
far from insubstantial.
In fact, at the time, many members
of the US government
considered this pamphlet to be one
of the most dangerous documents
in American history.
So to ensure this volume
reached his audience,
Walker had to hide his work
in the clothing
of both willing co-conspirators
and unknowing sailors;
smuggling the pamphlet
throughout the country.
But what was this incendiary document?
And who exactly was the man who wrote it?
Son of an enslaved father
and a freedwoman,
David Walker was born free
in the late 18th century
in Wilmington, North Carolina.
From a young age, he sought to extend
his freedom to all Black Americans,
and after moving to Charleston
as a young man,
he became closely involved with the
African Methodist Episcopal Church.
At that time, the mainstream movement
to end slavery was comprised of societies
led by wealthy white men
who favored gradual change
and avoided confrontation
with slaveholders.
But the AME Church practiced
a more radical brand of abolition.
In 1822, AME leader Denmark Vesey
planned a major insurrection
intended to violently liberate
Charleston’s enslaved community
and set the city ablaze.
It’s unclear if Walker contributed
to Vesey’s plan,
but he wasn’t among the many AME members
who were arrested and executed
for this attempted rebellion.
In 1825, Walker surfaced in Boston, where
he rejoined the fight against slavery.
In addition to marrying
fellow activist Eliza Butler
and opening his clothing store,
Walker helped fund America’s
first Black-owned newspaper.
Is passionate articles and public speeches
sought to instill pride and camaraderie
into those fighting for Black liberation.
But to truly unite free
and enslaved Black Americans,
Walker would have to go beyond Boston.
In 1829, he poured his ideas
into the “Appeal to the Colored Citizens
of the World.”
This treatise was punctuated
with furious exclamation marks
and emphasized the spiritual righteousness
of resistance.
He described the suffering of enslaved
people in graphic detail to prove
that the reality for Black Americans
was often “kill or be killed.”
And given these circumstances,
Walker staunchly defended
the right to militant action.
This wasn’t his only departure
from moderate mainstream abolitionists.
To stress the importance
of Black solidarity,
Walker connected American abolitionism
with global movements
for Black liberation.
He called for an international
Black freedom struggle
in an early display of what would come
to be called Pan-Africanism.
But at the same time,
he opposed the popular movement
for Black Americans to emigrate to Africa.
While the “Appeal” criticized
the Founding Fathers for their hypocrisy,
Walker insisted that Black people were
essential to the country’s creation,
and had an undeniable right
to American citizenship.
Walker suspected
these incendiary arguments
would make him a target for violence.
But in spite of the danger, he continued
using sailors to smuggle his work.
The “Appeal” traveled down the coast
into the hands of shopkeepers,
church leaders, political organizers,
and underground abolitionist networks.
For these readers, Walker’s words
galvanized militant efforts
to overthrow slave owners
and its call to arms struck fear
into white officials.
Police intercepted its delivery,
and quarantined Black sailors
at Southern ports.
The pamphlet inspired Louisiana
to ban anti-slavery literature,
and both North and South Carolina
cracked down on Black education
to prevent literacy
among enslaved peoples.
Southern officials even placed
a bounty on Walker’s head
worth the modern equivalent
of $322,000.
But while friends urged him to flee,
Walker refused to abandon his cause.
Tragically, his bravery
couldn’t protect him
from the deadliest disease of his time.
In August 1830, Walker was found dead.
And while his associates declared
him the victim of assassination,
it’s now widely believed
that he died from tuberculosis.
Following his death, Walker's message
continued to resound.
Frederick Douglass credited him
as the originator of radical abolitionism,
and his “Appeal” inspired some
of the most influential members
of the 20th century liberation movement.
From Malcolm X’s militant approach
to Black resistance,
to James Cone’s writing
on Black spirituality,
Walker’s legacy remains
crucially important to the history
of Black resistance movements—
and their visions for the future.
