Belinda Sutton (born c. 1713 in the western part of the African continent), also known as Belinda Royall, was a woman born in what is now Ghana who was enslaved by the Royall family at the

Royall House and Slave Quarters The Isaac Royall House and Slave Quarters is a historic house located in Medford, Massachusetts, near Tufts University. The historic estate was founded by Massachusetts Bay Colony, Bay Colony native Isaac Royall and is recognized as giving ...

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...

, USA. Additional details of Sutton's family life are under ongoing research. Baptism records for a son Joseph, and a daughter Prine, appear in church records. Belinda was abandoned by Isaac Royall Jr. when he fled to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. In Royall's will, a number of enslaved people are listed, but Belinda was unique in his wishes:

"In his will he gave his slave Belinda the option of freedom, and he further 'provided that she get security that she shall not be a charge in the town of Medford.' If she did not elect freedom, he bequeathed her to his daughter Mary Erving. Other slaves were bequeathed and some were sold, but Belinda was emancipated."

In February 1783, Sutton presented a petition to the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

requesting a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

from the proceeds of her enslaver's estate. The vivid petition text was crafted to describe Belinda's kidnapping in Africa and subsequent hardships and to condemn the practice of slavery. Some scholars suggest that she was assisted by

Prince Hall Prince Hall (December 7, 1807) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and leader in the Free negro, free black community in Boston. He founded Prince Hall Freemasonry and lobbied for Right to education, education rights ...

, a local free African-American anti-slavery activist of the Revolutionary War era. Other scholars point to the wider Black community and the collective knowledge of prior legal cases in the Commonwealth. The first petition request suggests that Sutton was the major supporter of her daughter:

"she prays, that such allowance may be made her out of the Estate of Colonel Royall, as will prevent her, and her more infirm daughter, from misery in the greatest extreme, and scatter comfort over the short and downward path of their lives"

As a result of this petition, an annual pension of fifteen pounds and twelve shillings was awarded to her, and approved by

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

. This pension has been cited as one of the first cases of reparation for slavery and the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. In the 1788 petition, she is referred to as a "widow" and used the last name Sutton. Subsequent petitions to the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

indicate that after two initial payments, the pension payments were not forthcoming. She continued to petition for the back payments until a final filing in 1793. Later legal documents refer to the Royall servants' deaths having transpired, but when and under what circumstances remain unknown at this time.

Legacy

Belinda's petition was reprinted in 1787 with her authorship credited, by publisher

Mathew Carey Mathew Carey (January 28, 1760 – September 16, 1839) was an Irish-born American publisher and economist who lived and worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Dublin, he had engaged in the cause of parliamentary reform, and in America, attract ...

, accompanied by an anti-slavery essay "Address to the Heart, on the Subject of American Slavery" in the publication The American Museum. In 1832,

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

's newspaper The Liberator referenced "Balinda" and her petition in an article called "Capacity of Blacks". In her 1980 poem "Belinda's Petition,"

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have bee ...

gives voice to a woman first enslaved at age 12: "Lately your Countrymen have severed / the Binds of Tyranny," she says, adding simply, "I would hope you / would consider the Same for me."

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

' essay "''

The Case for Reparations "The Case for Reparations" is an article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and published in ''The Atlantic'' in 2014. The article focuses on redlining and housing discrimination through the eyes of people who have experienced it and the devastating ef ...

"'' in 2014 called back to Belinda's story and petition. "''Belinda (Say Her Name)''", a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

poem by Kiah Duggans, was inspired by Belinda Sutton's life and lived experiences, and by the #SayHerName movement. Calls for reparation continue to cite Belinda's story of success, and activists continue to be inspired by her petition:

Unbeknownst to her, Sutton and her petition (which can be read in full at the end of this article) would set the stage for a centuries-long movement to repair the harms of the
trans-Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage. Europeans est ...
and
chattel slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. She also helped those who came after her envision what justice and equity in a post-slavery world could look like.

In 2022,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

inaugurated a Belinda Sutton Distinguished Lecture series and conferences honoring the work of Belinda Sutton and other enslaved people that contributed to Harvard University's establishment. The series is organized by

Guy-Uriel E. Charles Guy-Uriel E. Charles (born October 06, 1970) is an American legal scholar. Early life and education Charles is of Haitian descent. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Spring Arbor University in 1992, then attended the ...

, director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. The first lecture was delivered by Professor Martha S. Jones, entitled "What's So Hard about Hard Histories?" Harvard Law School has also agreed to provide support for the Isaac Royall House and Slave Quarters and collaborate on research and education programs. A

Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...

program in 2023, with a theme of Black Resistance, celebrated Sutton's legacy. "Remembering Belinda Sutton: Resistance, Activism, and Reparations" at the Royall House and Slave Quarters consisting of a discussion of the 1783 petition, a musical performance, and a discussion of "Belinda Sutton and Black Women's Radical Activism in 18th Century Massachusetts".

External links

Belinda's Petition
Massachusetts Anti-Slavery and Anti-Segregation Petitions; Massachusetts Archives Collection. v.239-Revolution Resolves, 1783. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives. Boston, Mass.. Collection Development Department. Widener Library. HCL. Harvard University. Accessed 17 February 2023. * The Petition of Belinda Sutton (previously known as Belinda Royall), transcribed * * *
Remembering Belinda Sutton: Resistance, Activism, and Reparations
event held at the

on February 25, 2023. (video). * Bryson, Donna. (June 27, 2023).
Making Amends: the History of Reparations".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Belinda 1710s births Year of death unknown Royall 18th-century African-American women 18th-century African-American people People from colonial Massachusetts American reparationists Writers of slave narratives