Summary of Shomari Wills's Black Fortunes

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 After his speech, Douglass was mobbed by the town’s residents, who were excited to hear a black man speak so passionately about slavery. He was offered a job by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, and began traveling around the country telling his story.

#2 Pleasant, as a girl, worked for the Husseys, a rich family on Nantucket. She learned to read and write, and used her work in the store to learn about business and human behavior. She developed an understanding of capital and human nature.

#3 Whaling was a catalyst for social change in the early nineteenth century. It created a black middle and upper class in Nantucket, and many men who worked on whaling crews were shareholders, not employees.

#4 Pleasant had her sights set on James W. Smith after meeting him in the store. She learned that he was a member of the Catholic church near her workplace, St. Mary’s Church. They were married within a month.