The Great Dismal is extraordinary in the many ways African Americans came to be there. Daniel Sayers, the leading archaeologist on maroons in the Great Dismal. That history, along with maroon history from maroon enclaves and communities throughout the Americas inspired Freewater. It’s there that I learned about the Great Dismal Swamp and how it was a refuge for enslaved people from the 1700s until the Civil War. It was a gold mine of information about maroons throughout the American South. Sylviane Diouf published her amazing book, Slavery’s Exiles- The Story of the American Maroons. I was fortunate, because during my research Dr. Still I yearned for more information on maroons in the United States. There I found books, but also archival videos on maroons, particularly those in Jamaica. Then I went to bigger and better resourced libraries like the Library of Virginia and the Library of Congress. There I found the most widely available literature-books and articles on maroon communities in the Caribbean and South America. I started small, just at my local library. That was great inspiration for writing Freewater. I was pleased to learn of this real history here in the American South, particularly in the Great Dismal Swamp. Maroon history is just made for great storytelling! Imagine enslaved people, escaping and finding ways to live free yet clandestine lives in the wilderness. Loosely based on a little-mined but important piece of history, this is an inspiring and deeply empowering story of survival, love, and courage.įreewater: A Tale Rooted in Maroon History by Amina Luqman-Dawson In this new, free society made up of escaped slaves and some born-free children, Homer cautiously embraces a set of spirited friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he hatches a plan to return to Southerland plantation, overcome his own cautious nature, and free his mother from enslavement. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret “maroon” community” called Freewater, deep in the recesses of the swamp. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail.

Debut author Amina Luqman Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.Īfter an entire young life of enslavement, twelve-year-old Homer escapes Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, leaving his beloved mother behind.

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson