Beyond Freedom by Patricia Q. Wall

Beyond freedom comes hope...or it should. But for fifteen-year-old Matty Warren Smith and hundreds of other free blacks living on the north slope of Boston's Beacon Hill in 1812, hope struggles against dispair. BEYOND FREEDOM, a sequel novel to CHILD OUT OF PLACE, provides youngsters (age 10 & up) with another, lesser-known chapter in the early history of African Americans in New England. It reveals not only their struggle to survive in a climate of growing racism, but their courage and perseverance as they seek to overcome that and claim their rightful place in American life. (At the conclusion of the story, the author provides extensive historical information and a bibliography.)