# The Forgotten Abolitionist: The Black Revolutionary, Industrialist, and Abolitionist James Forten

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/portraits-of-liberty/the-forgotten-abolitionist-the-black-revolutionary-industrialist-and-abolitionist-james-forten>

**By** Paul Meany

**Published:** February 27, 2024

---

A titan of industry and abolition whose convictions reshaped America's narrative of freedom and equality.

## SUMMARY:

Despite his upbringing in poverty and vicious racial discrimination, the black freeman James Forten rose to become one of the foremost sailmakers in Philadelphia and a crucial voice in the abolition of slavery. Though largely forgotten today, Forten defied the racial stereotypes of his day and became a symbol of black achievement in the new nation of America.