Book Talk and Signing with Author Jesse Russell – Juliet: From Slavery to Inspiration

Join us for a book talk with Author Jesse Russell about his new Book, Juliet: From Slavery to Inspriration. Juliet – From Slavery to Inspiration is a book based on the true story of an enslaved woman born in 1815 who was freed, along with her family, in the last Will and Testament of a local man named John Russell Crafton. The story could have ended there had it not been for a second will of suspicious origins that revoked Juliet’s and her family’s freedom. The result was a torturous course through the Clarke County courts for 8 long years. In a bit or irony, Juliet’s attorney would later become the judge who presided over the trial of abolitionist, John Brown. The trial eventually ended in 1856 with Juliet and her family being auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is a story of hope, strength, loss and the inspiration that arose from the ashes of one woman’s quest for freedom. Through a series of twists and turns, the author discovered that Juliet’s daughter, named Harriet Phillips, was his maternal great, great aunt. Harriet’s granddaughter, named Ella Phillips, would become the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1916, later worked in the Eisenhower administration and then spent 6 years traveling to parts of the world as a representative of UNESCO. Through painstaking research, the author located the last living niece of Ella Phillips. Their unique heritage quickly resulted in a special bond between them, cemented by their shared history and ancestors. Although they are distant cousins, their friendship has closed the gap. They remain close to this very day. The author is the great, great, great grandson of John Russell Crafton and has dedicated his book to the family of Julliet