Hard Labor : The First African Americans, 1619

Erased by TimeIn 1619 twenty Africans stepped foot on American soil.

They came not as slaves, but as indentured servants.

They knew if they could hold on and finish out their sentences, they would be free.

They came with dreams of the future and a vision of life as good as any other person's, black or white. Who were these people? How did they get here? What happened to them? Much of the information about them -- even their names -- has been lost.

Stories about them are incomplete, and facts are blurred by centuries of neglect.

But their stories are worth knowing and keeping and sharing, for they are a part of the American saga. This is their story.