所羅門·諾薩普

所羅門諾薩普日(Solomon Northup Day)地方性遺產

內戰之前，假如您是出生時，即享有自由的黑人，您仍然有可能被迫成為奴隸，這就是所羅門諾薩普的親身經歷。

諾薩普是個在1808年紐約密涅瓦(Minerva)出生的自由人，他是一名木匠及天生的小提琴手。1834年時，他及他的妻子搬到紐約的薩拉托加溫泉市(Saratoga Springs)，並在那生下了三個小孩。1841年，諾薩普遇見了兩個聲稱自己來自於馬戲團的人。因為諾薩普需要錢，所以他同意成為他們在華盛頓特區(Washington, D.C.)的小提琴手。然而，當他們一抵達華盛頓，那兩個男人立即把他迷昏並用鏈子綁起來，將他身上的財物洗劫一空后，再把他賣給一位奴隸販子。

諾薩普隨著其他的奴隸被運往南方的紐奧良，然後在當地的奴隸市場被拍賣。展開了12年的奴隸生涯，共為三個主人工作過；諾薩普辛苦的工作並遭受了許多殘酷的對待，但他總是不停的尋求脫逃及聯絡他在紐約的朋友及家人的機會。1852年時，諾薩普和一位叫做貝斯(Samuel Bass)的加拿大木匠成為朋友，經由貝斯的幫忙，諾薩普寄了一封信給他在紐約的朋友。通過他朋友的幫忙，他終於在1853年重獲自由並回到紐約與他的家人重聚。

諾薩普寫了一本名為「身為奴隸的12年」( Twelve Years as a Slave)的回憶錄，書中詳述了他的親身經歷。但他留下的遺產並不只有這本書。諾薩普擁有許多子孫，他們於1999年7月24日，聚集在薩拉托加溫泉市對祖先表達敬意。為了緬懷諾薩普的遭遇及其他身為奴隸的非裔美國人，薩拉托加溫泉市宣布7月24日為所羅門諾薩普日。

Before the Civil War, if you were black and born a free man you could still be forced into slavery. That's what happened to Solomon Northup.

Northup was born a free man in Minerva, New York, in 1808. He was a carpenter and talented fiddler. In 1834, he and his wife moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where they had three children. In 1841, Northup met two men who claimed to be from a circus. Because he needed the money, Northup agreed to join them as a fiddler in Washington, D.C. Once they reached Washington, however, the men drugged, chained, robbed, and sold him to a slave trader.

Northup was shipped south to New Orleans, along with other slaves, where he was sold in a slave market. He spent the next 12 years as a slave, working for three masters. Northup worked hard and endured much cruelty, but he was always looking for the chance to escape or contact his family and friends in New York. Finally, in 1852, Northup befriended Samuel Bass, a Canadian carpenter. With his help, Northup sent a letter to his friends in New York. Through the help of his friends, he regained his freedom in 1853. Northup returned to New York, where he was finally reunited with his family.

Northup wrote a memoir, Twelve Years as a Slave, about his experiences. But this book isn't his only legacy. Northup has many descendants, who gathered together in Saratoga Springs on July 24, 1999, for a tribute to their ancestor. The town of Saratoga Springs declared July 24 as Solomon Northup Day to remember the suffering of Northup and other African Americans who lived as slaves.