Clemons Van Forer's Freedom - Hardcover

by Joshua A. Clemons (Author), Lamont Wayne (Illustrator)

The story is about an enslaved man named Clemons Van Forer. Joshua, the author, wrote this story to give to his mother on Juneteenth. His grandmother read the story and felt it was worthy of publication.

The main character, Clemons, had heard stories of a man named Tice Davids escaping to freedom from his owner. His owner said that Tice must have escaped through an underground railroad. Clemons dreamed of one day being able to escape with his family. But until that day, he found freedom through the love he and his family had for one another.

The author, Joshua Augustus Clemons is eight years old who has been inspired by his parents and grandparents. The glossary of his book reads: Juneteenth is June 19th. Although slavery had ended, it marked the end of slavery for enslaved people in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Galveston, Texas received word that slavery had ended when Abraham Lincoln signed Proclamation of Emancipation freeing enslaved people on September 22, 1862. President Joe Biden signed it as a national holiday on June 17, 2021. The Underground Railroad was not a train railroad. The Underground Railroad was homes, churches, and businesses called stations. The people in these stations provided food and a place to hide for runaway enslaved people seeking freedom.

People who helped enslaved people moved from one station to another were called conductors. Tice Davids was an enslaved person from Kentucky. In 1831, he escaped from his owner crossing the Ohio River. His owner chased him in a rowboat, but Tice got to shore before his owner. When his owner got to shore, he could not find Tice. When the owner returned home, he told people that Tice Davids must have escaped by an underground railroad. It is believed, by some people, this is how the Underground Railroad got its name.