Once a Maryland slave known as Allender's Jake, William Dixon had run away and made a new life as a New York whitewasher. From March to October, he strolled the city with his long poles and lime pails. He applied an annual white face to public buildings, merchants' offices, and private houses. It was one of the best trades still left to black men. In the winter he sawed wood or did other manual work.

Dixon was seized by slave catchers in April 1837. Defended by the New York Committee of Vigilance and the New York Manumission Society, he spent more than two years fighting for his own freedom, and for the right to a jury trial in fugitive slave cases. While the case remained unresolved, he had a chance meeting with another fugitive slave, a man who would later take the name Frederick Douglass.

To hear an imagined conversation based on the meeting between William Dixon and Frederick Douglass, click on the audio icon.

To read more about William Dixon, see Unit 2 of the classroom materials. Download here.