Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett)

Hello. My name is Elizabeth Freeman, but many people called me Mum Bett. I was born a long, long time ago, around the year 1744. When I was a little girl, I was not free. That meant I had to work for a family and I could not choose where I lived. This made me feel sad. I dreamed of being free, just like the birds I saw flying in the sky.

One day in the year 1780, I was working inside a house when I heard some men talking. They were reading from a new paper for our state, Massachusetts. The paper said that 'all men are born free and equal.' Those words felt like sunshine in my heart. If everyone was born free and equal, then I should be free, too. I knew right then that I had to do something brave. I walked all the way to a lawyer's house and asked him to help me become free.

The lawyer's name was Theodore Sedgwick, and he agreed to help me. In 1781, we went to court, and I told everyone my story. And guess what happened? We won. The judge said that I was free. I was so happy. To celebrate my new, free life, I chose a new name for myself: Elizabeth Freeman. My story helped other people become free, too.

I lived to be about 85 years old. People remember me for being brave and for standing up for what is right. My story shows that one person's voice can help change the world and make it a better place for everyone.