EVERY GREAT DREAM BEGINS WITH a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman
The year is 1825, of June in Dorchester County, Maryland, on the plantation of Edward Brodess. A group of slaves picks cotton in a field in the hot sun while singing a negro spiritual, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.
There is one slave with no shirt on, and scars and bruises are across his back from being whipped. A 12-year-old girl, wearing an old dusty white gown and black scarf around her head, holds a basket picking cotton. She is Soph Ross older sister of Harriet Tubman. The overseer of the plantation Trevor Bailey comes out to the field where Soph is, he carries a whip in his hand that he uses to whip slaves something Trevor enjoys doing.
TREVOR: Soph, Edward wants to speak with you and the house slaves about something important. Don't go in the front door, go through the kitchen back door.
Soph stops picking cotton and walks around a big white house, she enters the kitchen back door. In the kitchen are a couple of Edward's house slaves wearing uniforms and cooking, one of them is Harriet Rit Ross, Soph's mother, 35-years-old and pregnant. In the great room of the house, there are more of Edward's house slaves cleaning. Two are Linah Ross, 17, and Mariah Ross, 14. They are Rit's daughters and Soph's sisters.
Two men come down the stairs looking well dressed and clean wearing fancy suits. One of them is Edward Brodess, late 20s, owner of the plantation. Edward is charming and can be very aggressive and assertive and he will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means harming others. And Dave, Edward's assistant, who handles all of his finances. Edward calls all of his house slaves into the great room.
EDWARD: Ladies! Come into the great room I must speak with you all.
All of the house slaves all women come into the great room and form a line like a group of soldiers. The rest of the house slaves stop their cleaning and get in line with the rest of them. Edward speaks to them.
EDWARD: Ladies, I have some bad news for you. See, the problem is my plantation has been struggling financially and I'm in danger of losing it. So unfortunately, I must sell some of you to get the money not that many of you, just three in particular. Now I have three slave holders coming to buy three of you. And you're going to behave, as are the rest of you or you will regret it. Understand?
ALL: Yes Massa Edward.
EDWARD: Good. Very good.
Trevor enters the house ushering in three white men. All of them are slave holders that Edward has invited. One of them is Joshua J. Ward, and there is Stephen Duncan the oldest of them and lastly there is Timothy Manning. Edward welcomes them into his home with open arms as they all shake his hand.
EDWARD: Gentlemen, welcome, I'm so glad you came, please come right in.
STEPHEN: Thank you Mr. Brodess, and what a pleasure it is to see you again.
EDWARD: The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Duncan. Mr. Ward, Mr. Manning, pleasure to make your acquaintance as well.
JOSHUA: Thank you, sir.
TIMOTHY: Thank you Mr. Brodess for the warm welcome.
EDWARD: This is my assistant, Dave.
DAVE: Hello gentlemen, glad to meet you all.
EDWARD: So how bout we skip the small talk and get straight down to business, huh?
STEPHEN: We'd like that, sir.
They all take a seat on the sofa and start discussing business for the three slaves.
TIMOTHY: So, then Mr. Brodess where are these wonderful house slaves you told us about?
EDWARD: Yes of course. Linah, Mariah, Soph come forward!
Rit is shocked after hearing her daughters' names called and so are, they.
EDWARD: Ladies, come now. No one is going to harm you. Right now, come.
Linah and her sisters step out of line to present themselves to the slave holders.
EDWARD: All right, away you go the rest of you back to the kitchen. And the rest of you ladies go upstairs and clean.
The house slaves go back into the kitchen while the rest of the house slaves go upstairs to clean. But Rit does not move and looks at her children scared that she might lose them.
TREVOR: Harriet, this has nothing to do with you. Now go back into the kitchen or else.
Rit does as told and returns to the kitchen.
EDWARD: Gentlemen I present to you the three house slaves.
STEPHEN: Wait these are the house slaves you spoke of?
EDWARD: Yes, sir, Mr. Duncan, these are the house slaves I spoke of. Is there a problem with them?
STEPHEN: I just thought that they would be much older than this. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with them. Me? I personally prefer a nigger with experience.
EDWARD: Mr. Duncan, I can assure you that these young ladies are excellent workers despite their age. And worth buying.
STEPHEN: Are they of any great value, is my question to you? I'd like to make sure I'm getting my money's worth in buying one of your slaves.
EDWARD: Oh, indeed they are very valuable.
Edward grabs Mariah by the arm and starts showing her off in front of the slave holders like a piece of artwork.
EDWARD: This slave here name is Mariah, and she's one of my house slaves who cleans the house. She's very healthy and has a great hygiene.
Edward opens Mariah's mouth showing her teeth to Stephen.
EDWARD: You see, don't you? Perfect teeth as well. She's not only a healthy slave, she never causes me any trouble and she's never been whipped. And she does a great job keeping this house clean. Don't you Mariah?
MARIAH: (nervously) Yes yes, sir.
EDWARD: Excellent. And not only that but Mariah has proven to be an efficient worker in the cotton field. So, you see gentlemen, she can be very useful as a house slave, and she would be very useful as a field nigger if you buy her.
Stephen gets up and walks up to Mariah and starts examining and observing her to see if she is worth buying.
STEPHEN: She does look useful.
EDWARD: That's because she is useful, sir and very hard working.
STEPHEN: But I wouldn't call her a house slave maybe more of a picking field nigger.
EDWARD: That's all up to you to decide what she is, if you buy her.
STEPHEN: I guess she'll do for working in the field.
While they continue to discuss Mariah's work habits Joshua looks at Rit in the kitchen cooking. He seems to be infatuated by her physical appearance as a slave.
