o testify in an issue involving white men, and his wife and daughters were excused from paying taxes. At the time that would have classified them as equals to the white women.There were restraints on Anthony and his family because of their race, atleast in the beginning of their time in Virginia. Obviously, being a slave came with certain restraints, but later in their lives it looks as though they had earned the trust of the people that surrounded them enough to have relatively little in the way of racially motivated restraints. They themselves even owned a black slave.I see when I look at the history of Anthony Johnson that the hope for freedom of black people at the time wasn’t as grave as I would have thought. Anthony Johnson was able to work his way up from slavery, start a family, and establish a presence where he lived. He was successful enough to be recognized as historically significant, and I think that his accomplishments prove that it wasn’t a completely hopeless situation to be a black slave at that time. Sure, some of his success was credited to him being a lucky man, but he also earned his spot in history....
