This is a superb and magnificent letter written from a former slave to his former master in a response to a request to return as a “free” man and employee, no longer as a slave. When I reached the apex of the letter, which is a request of “some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly”, I laughed out loud with rejoice and respect for the writer’s forethought to do so – in addition to being a passive way of humiliating the former slave owner.
