Worcester Business Journal

12 W o r c e s t e r 3 0 0 : C i t y o f I n n o v a t o r s A son of enslaved African parents under ownership of a Barre family started a legal revolution in his quest for the freedom that had been promised him by a previous owner. It was the beginning of the end of slavery in Massachusetts – then, across the North, leading to the Civil War, and the end of slavery across the nation. Quock (Kwaku) Walker, believed to be of Ghanaian ancestry, had been promised his freedom by the Caldwell family, who purchased his family in 1754 when Walker was an infant. Walker was promised his freedom upon reaching age 25. When Caldwell died, his widow promised to manumit Walker, then 10 years old, at age 21, but she died in 1772, when he was about 19. By then she had married Nathaniel Jennison, who refused to abide by the promise. Quock, then 28, escaped, taking employment e beginning of the end of slavery with Seth and John Caldwell, brothers of his former master. Jennison came to the Caldwell farm, forcibly reclaiming Walker and beating him severely. ree court cases followed — the first, suing Jennison for assault and battery in the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas, declaring Walker a freeman, not a slave, and awarding him a damage of 50 pounds. In a second suit, Jennison sued the Caldwells for enticing Walker away, winning damages of 25 pounds. Walker's attorney Levi Lincoln Sr. referenced the crucial words of the Massachusetts Constitution, ratified in 1780. Both cases went before the newly formed Supreme Judicial Court, whose decision came about through judges and juries examining the constitution's preamble. In a third proceeding, the Massachusetts attorney general charged Jennison with criminal assault and "e trials involving Quock Walker in the Supreme Judicial Court rested on the principle that slavery was contrary to the new Massachusetts Constitution," – Rep. Jeffrey N. Roy (D-Franklin) By the time of the first U.S. Census in 1790, no slaves were to be found in Massachusetts. Image | Boston Public Library 1722-1821 Walker established the legal footing to end America's original sin A character recommendation for Levi Lincoln Sr., who represented Quock Walker in the landmark case that led to Walker's freedom. Image | Courtesy of Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, via Twitter No known images of Quock Walker exist, but artist Kamali ronell created this banner in his honor for the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington using the likeness of Walker's nephew, Kwaku Walker Lewis.

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