"America's First Poster Child"

"In March 1855, young Mary was taken to the offices of the New-York Daily Times, where reporters looked her over and expressed 'astonishment' that this child was 'held a slave.' Today, people are similarly surprised when I show them the daguerreotype of Mary and I point out she was born into slavery. They react the same as people did a century and a half ago, revealing that they still harbor some of the assumptions about race and slavery that Sumner tapped into when he first put Mary onstage."

Jessie Morgan-Owens at Smithsonian tells the story of Mary Mildred Williams.