We don’t speak about aunt Polly Jackson enough. Aunt Polly Jackson made a name for herself by courageously fighting off white people who sought to capture freedom seekers. Jackson had escaped to freedom via the Underground Railroad, settling in an Ohio town called Africa, established near Ripley, Ohio. The settlement was made up of escaped African-Americans who were offered land to settle in the town, and it existed along the Underground Railway route. Jackson took them up on their offer, gaining land to settle in Africa and starting a small farm to take care of herself. To pay it forward, Jackson would often help those freedom seekers who passed by her land on their way North. Fed up with the attacks from the Reverse Underground Railroad network, Jackson one day took it upon herself to rescue, protect and help formerly enslaved people seeking freedom. Jackson would dress herself up as an old lady, knowing that older people usually avoided being attacked, and she would go out at night carrying a butcher knife wrapped in cloth and a kettle of boiling water. Armed with mere kitchen essentials, Jackson would fight off slave capturers, using the boiling water as a backup if the knife didn’t work. Jackson used her home as a safe haven, housing freedom seekers and helping them navigate further North. Beautiful.
