Breakdown:

1. Early Life and Initial Freedom
   Henrietta Wood was born into slavery due to her parents’ enslaved status. In 1834, as a teenager, she was sold to a man named William Jerome. She remained enslaved for ten years, but when Jerome left the U.S. for France, his wife Jane took Henrietta to Ohio, a free state, and officially freed her, filing paperwork to grant her freedom. Henrietta’s new life as a free woman seemed promising, but her freedom would be short-lived.
2. Betrayal and Re-enslavement
   Jane’s daughter Josephine and her husband were angered by Henrietta’s emancipation, seeing her as lost “property.” They hired notorious slave catchers to recapture Henrietta. Deputy sheriff Zebulon Ward paid a woman named Rebecca to lure Henrietta back into Kentucky, where Ward and others captured her. Tragically, her freedom papers had been confiscated, and the courthouse in Cincinnati, where her records were stored, had burned down. With no proof of her free status, Henrietta was sold back into slavery.
3. Life Under Brutal Conditions and the Civil War
   Henrietta was sold to Jared Brandon, a wealthy and powerful slaveholder with hundreds of enslaved people under his control. As the Civil War neared its end, Brandon attempted to hold on to his enslaved workforce by moving them to Texas, a haven for slaveholders defying federal efforts to end slavery. Henrietta remained enslaved even after the Emancipation Proclamation, until she finally found an opportunity to escape and reach her family.
4. The Fight for Reparations
   Once she was free, Henrietta turned to attorney Harvey Myers to seek reparations for her suffering. Myers argued her case before a jury, not on the morality of slavery but as a kidnapping case. Henrietta sought $20,000, but the jury awarded her $2,500 (around $65,000 today)—an inadequate amount yet the largest reparations award ever granted for enslavement in the U.S.
5. Legacy and Impact
   Despite the modest award, Henrietta’s case set a precedent and spotlighted the injustice of slavery and the continued struggle of freed individuals to obtain justice. Her courage to demand reparations serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and strength of those who fought for justice against seemingly insurmountable odds. Henrietta Wood’s story remains a significant chapter in U.S. history, highlighting the ongoing legacy of slavery and the need for justice and reparations.

Summary:

Henrietta Wood’s life illustrates a tragic yet resilient journey through betrayal, re-enslavement, and an eventual landmark fight for reparations. Her experience sheds light on the cruel realities of slavery, the determination of those who survived it, and the ongoing relevance of her struggle in discussions of justice today.