The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail

By: Kristen Green

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Synopsis: The inspiring true story of an enslaved woman who liberated an infamous slave jail and transformed it into one of the nation&’s first HBCUs In The Devil&’s Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of research to tell the extraordinary and little-known story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who blazed a path of liberation for thousands. She was forced to have the children of a brutal slave trader and live on the premises of his slave jail, known as the &“Devil&’s Half Acre.&” When she inherited the jail after the death of her slaveholder, she transformed it into &“God&’s Half Acre,&” a school where Black men could fulfill their dreams. It still exists today as Virginia Union University, one of America&’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities. A sweeping narrative of a life in the margins of the American slave trade, The Devil&’s Half Acre brings Mary Lumpkin into the light. This is the story of the resilience of a woman on the path to freedom, her historic contributions, and her enduring legacy.