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"Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale": Cheryl Wills Uncovers Family's History from Slavery to Freedom

2,397 views · Published 26 March 2013 · 17:19 · Indexed 30 October 2026

Channel: Democracy Now! · 2013 · News & Politics

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http://www.democracynow.org - In this year marking the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation, Democracy Now! speaks to NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills who uncovered the story of her great-great-great grandparents, Sandy and Emma Wills. Sandy was a slave who escaped from his master and joined the United States Colored Troops to fight in the Civil War. Wills based her book, "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale" on thousands of documents from the National Archives. The book's title comes from a quote by Frederick Douglass: "Who would be free themselves must strike the blow. Better even die free than to live slaves." We speak to Wills one day after the United Nations marked its 6th annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

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