From Enslaved to Landowner: Abraham Skipwith's Story - July 27, 2026 -
Watch the full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMpYozsIyX0Abraham Skipwith was an enslaved man for some of the most celebrated dignitaries in Virginia. He learned to read and write, and eventually wrote his own petition for freedom. After this was granted he went on to become one of the first Black landowners in Virginia.
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Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War
Follow the stories of four Black Americans as they navigate our country’s fight for independence and their individual pursuits of freedom. Discover the stories of James Lafayette, who served as a double agent for the Patriots and helped bring down the British at Yorktown; Harry Washington, who was enslaved by George Washington and escaped Mount Vernon to join the British troops; Elizabeth Freeman, previously known as Mum Bet, who sued one of the most prominent patriots in Massachusetts while living under his roof; and Abraham Peyton Skipwith, an enslaved man who used his proximity to power and his unusual literacy to petition for his own freedom and become one of the first free Black landowners in Richmond, VA.










