‘The Slave Who Went to Congress’ Tells the Story of Alabama’s Benjamin Turner

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff

This Friday at 6 p.m., join award-winning author Frye Gaillard and education and curriculum specialist Marti Rosner on Facebook Live to learn about their new illustrated book, “The Slave Who Went to Congress,” based on the inspirational true story of Benjamin Turner.

“The story, written for children aged 7-12, shares the struggles and accomplishments of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who lived as a slave for 40 years before being elected as Alabama’s first African American congressman and one of the first in the House of Representatives following Emancipation,” said Lisa Harrison, of NewSouth Books.

Turner, born into slavery in North Carolina in 1825, relocated with his widowed owner, Elizabeth Turner, to Selma when he was 5 years old. It is believed that Turner received some education as a playmate of the family’s white children. Around age 20, Turner was sold to Major W.H. Gee.

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