3 Review(s)

The book begins by recounting Peake’s early life in Norfolk, Virginia, where she was born to a free Black woman and a white Englishman. Despite the restrictions on education for African Americans at the time, Peake was secretly taught to read and write, and she developed a strong passion for learning. This early exposure to education fueled her later mission to teach others, particularly those who were denied access to education under the institution of slavery.Lockwood highlights Peake’s establishment of a school for freedmen at Fortress Monroe in 1861, which is considered the first formal education for freed slaves in the South. Despite the challenges of ill health and limited resources, Peake’s commitment to literacy and empowerment remained unwavering. She taught under what was famously known as the "Emancipation Oak," a tree that became a symbol of freedom and education for formerly enslaved people.