Charleston, SC, Feb. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Long ago, an African boy was stolen from his family, forced onto a slave ship, and sailed far away from his homeland. Joe the Pressman tells the incredible true story of a young black boy who was taken to the Caribbean and then to Philadelphia, where he was enslaved by printer William Dunlap. His journey continued to Quebec City, where he worked for William Brown and Thomas Gilmore, co-founders of the Quebec Gazette. Renamed Joe, he became the pressman, the shop’s most valued laborer. Yet, Joe remembered freedom and was determined not to live as a “slave.” He escaped five times, even braving the harsh Quebec winters, prompting his enslavers to publish fugitive slave ads in their desperate attempts to recapture him.
Joe’s resistance is a testament to his intelligence and bravery, and it is through his struggles that we learn about his life. This engaging narrative celebrates Joe’s legendary spirit while educating children about the lesser-known histories of slavery in cold-climate regions like the US North and Canada. Unlike many children’s books that focus on plantation slavery in the US South, Joe the Pressman is the first English-language children’s book to explore the 200-year history of Canadian slavery.
Key themes in Joe the Pressman include:
– The journey of a young boy from Africa to the Caribbean and beyond.
– The resilience and bravery of Joe as he escapes slavery multiple times.
– The historical context of slavery in Canada and the US North.
– The importance of remembering and honoring lesser-known stories of resistance.
“Charmaine A. Nelson, PhD structures the narrative to highlight Joe’s intelligence and bravery, inspiring young readers to confront injustice.”
What other hidden stories of resistance await discovery in the pages of history?
Joe the Pressman is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit any of their social media platforms.
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About the Author: Charmaine A. Nelson, PhD, was born in Toronto to Jamaican immigrant parents. An internationally renowned scholar of Transatlantic Slavery Studies, she is a Provost Professor of Art History and the Founding Director of the Slavery North Initiative at UMass Amherst. Charmaine is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning Black Maple Magazine. An accomplished author, her nine previous books include The Color of Stone (2007) and The Precariousness of Freedom (2024). She has delivered over 340 lectures and has been featured in major media outlets. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Media Contact: Charmaine A. Nelson | [email protected]
Available for interviews: Author, Charmaine A. Nelson, PhD