Benjamin Banneker was born free when most blacks were still enslaved.  He was free to wonder about the movement of the stars in the sky and the changes in the shape of the moon.  And he was free to seek the answers to his questions.

But throughout his life it troubled Benjamin Banneker that not all blacks were free.  An accomplished astronomer and mathematician, author of the first published almanac by a black man, Benjamin Banneker decided to take a stand against slavery.  He would write to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and tell him exactly what he thought about Jefferson owning slaves.  Maybe Jefferson would listen. 

From the back of the paperback edition