The slave who went to Congress

"In 1870 Benjamin Turner, who spent the first forty years of his life as a slave, was elected to the United States Congress. He was the first African American from Alabama to earn that distinction. In a recreation of Turner's own words, based on speeches and other writings that Turner left behind, [the authors] have crafted the story of a man who taught himself to read when he was young and began a lifetime quest for education and freedom"--Provided by publisher.