Half Slave, Half Free

Synopsis

"Half Slave, Half Free" is the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from Saratoga, New York who was kidnapped into slavery in 1841. For twelve years, Northup suffered the cruelty and subjugation of enslavement on plantations in Louisiana. Finally, he was able to send a message for help back to Saratoga. Henry Northup, the son of his former owners, mounted a rescue mission. He traveled to Louisiana and was able to free Solomon in 1853.

"Twelve Years A Slave," Solomon Northup's account of his ordeal, sold 25 thousand copies in its first year of publication. The book served to fan the fervor of American abolitionists and increased the pressure to free the slaves even at the expense of a civil war. "Half Slave, Half Free" is a two-hour motion picture based on Northup's account that goes beyond the particulars of one man's enslavement to probe the very essence of the right to freedom.