Eastern Connecticut State University is pleased to announce an upcoming presentation by Susanna Ashton, author of "A Plausible Man: The True Story of the Escaped Slave Who Inspired Uncle Tom's Cabin." The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre. This event is free and open to the public.
"A Plausible Man" tells the captivating story of John Andrew Jackson, an escaped slave who fled bondage in South Carolina. Ashton's work unfolds as a historical detective story, exploring Jackson's journey to freedom, his attempts to reunite his family, and his efforts as an international advocate for abolition and restitution. The story not only spans the regions of New England and South Carolina but also traverses the complex landscape of the Civil War and Reconstruction, as well as Jackson's fight against the restoration of white supremacy.
Ashton is a professor of English at Clemson University and an expert on narratives of slavery and freedom. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and other major media outlets, and she has received major fellowships at Harvard University, Yale University as well as a Fulbright in Ireland.