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Preserving and amplifying the historical legacy of William & Ellen Craft
(Images: 1860's "Running A Thousand Miles for Freedom" by William & Ellen Craft; illustration of Ellen's disguise; engravings and archival photos of The Crafts)
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ABOUT THE WILLIAM & ELLEN CRAFT FOUNDATION
To commemorate the 175th Anniversary of the legendary 1848 escape from enslavement by William and Ellen Craft, direct descendants of The Crafts in the United States established the William & Ellen Craft Foundation in December 2023. The WECFoundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to advancing Black History, education, and civil rights by amplifying and preserving the legacy of its ancestors, William and Ellen Craft. Read more about WECFoundation here.
V I S I O N
Inspired by the work started by our formerly enslaved ancestors, international abolitionists William and Ellen Craft, we believe passionately in the power of education, advocacy and respect for cultural heritage to change lives and shape future generations.
M I S S I O N
The mission of the William & Ellen Craft Foundation (WECFoundation) is to preserve and amplify the legacy of William and Ellen Craft; to champion the depth, breadth and richness of Black History and to advocate for human rights through supporting endeavors in education and preservation.
THE STORY OF WILLIAM & ELLEN CRAFT
The extraordinary story of the formerly enslaved William and Ellen Craft has been captured for nearly two centuries via publications, oral history, legal material, photos, moving images, exhibitions, eyewitness accounts and more. However, their escape from enslavement is often where their story stops for some people—it shouldn't... Learn more here.
MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE
An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom
Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
WECFoundation is honored that award-winning author, Ilyon Woo decided to not only tell the story of William and Ellen Craft through the New York Times Bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning, "Master, Slave, Husband Wife", but to do the extensive research on unfolding what was a very dangerous escape from enslavement... (Photo: Ilyon Woo is flanked by some of William's and Ellen's descendants)
“A rich narrative of the Crafts, an enslaved couple who escaped from Georgia in 1848, with light-skinned Ellen disguised
as a disabled white gentleman and William as her manservant, exploiting assumptions about race, class, and disability
to hide in public on their journey to the North, where they became famous abolitionists while evading bounty hunters.”
—The Pulitzer Prizes
Named one of the Best Books of the Year
by
The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Oprah Daily and more...
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