The revolutionary life of an 18th-century dwarf activist who was among the first to fight against slavery and animal cruelty.
Prophet Against Slavery is an action-packed chronicle of the remarkable and radical Benjamin Lay, based on the award-winning biography by Marcus Rediker that sparked the Quaker community to re-embrace Lay after 280 years of disownment. Graphic novelist David Lester brings the full scope of Lay’s activism and ideas to life.
Born in 1682 to a humble Quaker family in Essex, England, Lay was a forceful and prescient visionary. Understanding the fundamental evil that slavery represented, he would unflinchingly use guerrilla theatre tactics and direct action to shame slave owners and traders in his community. The prejudice that Lay suffered as a dwarf and a hunchback, as well as his devout faith, informed his passion for human and animal liberation. Exhibiting stamina, fortitude, and integrity in the face of the cruelties practiced against what he called his “fellow creatures,” he was often a lonely voice that spoke truth to power.
Lester’s beautiful imagery and storytelling, accompanied by afterwords from Rediker and Paul Buhle, capture the radicalism, the humor, and the humanity of this truly modern figure. A testament to the impact each of us can make, Prophet Against Slavery brings Lay’s prophetic vision to a new generation of young activists who today echo his call of 300 years ago: “No justice, no peace!”
“The inspiring life of Benjamin Lay, history’s first revolutionary abolitionist, gets an impressive, energetic graphic adaptation.”
—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review
“Lester (1919) captures the overlooked legacy of a fiery abolitionist who became the most disowned Quaker of his era in this raw graphic biography. . . . In documenting a life rife with cruelty and passion, Lester’s artwork is aptly grim and features rough linework that’s splashed with gray washes and black ink blots that evoke blood, smoke, and shadows.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Moving images, a passionate script, and a compelling narrative in one.”
—Broken Pencil
“Artist David Lester focuses on the dramatic actions and spiritual development of our bristly hero. He draws with a rough verve that suits his passionate subject. But underneath the expressionistic flourishes lie the structures of a brilliant visual storyteller. Lester never overexplains: Images speak for themselves in lucid passages of wordless panels.”
—Democratic Left
“Display[s] a nuanced empathy with Mecca’s subject . . . Will leave the reader pondering what it takes to put one’s body and social standing where [Benjamin Lay’s] mouth was.”
—Magnet Magazine
“A fascinating historical study and an implicit call to conscience.”
—Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“A guide to history that is often lost or buried.”
—Ormsby Review
“Lester’s raw, expressive visual approach perfectly delivers. Prophet Against Slavery is a crucial account of abolitionism’s religious framework, its courage and moral clarity often recast as sin or insanity, and the necessity of taking outside risks in pursuit of justice and equality.”
—Nate Powell, National Book Award–winning artist of the March trilogy about US congressman John Lewis
“The saga of Benjamin Lay is both unique and glorious. Historian Marcus Rediker and artist David Lester do a splendid job in bringing history to life.”
—Kate Evans, author and artist of Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg
“Do you know the story of Benjamin Lay? Neither did I. These pages constitute the graphic apocrypha of the Prophet Against Slavery himself, brought to light by Lester’s thorough research, spare language, and stunning artwork. In unflinching terms, his expressionist drawings capture the passion and commitment of his subject.”
—Jason Lutes, author of Berlin
Graphic adaptation of The Fearless Benjamin Lay
Postscript
Afterword: Why We Need Benjamin Lay
Comic Art and the Artist by Paul Buhle
- “Prophet Against Slavery, Benjamin Lay: A Graphic Novel,” Friends Journal, write-up
- “Let your life speak: Graphic novel shines light on Benjamin Lay, Quaker ‘Prophet Against Slavery,’” Santa Cruz Sentinel, Q&A with David Lester
- “David Lester on Prophet Against Slavery,” Turning Pages/UMFM Radio (Manitoba), interview
- “Comics Review: Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel,” Graphic Policy, video review
- “Conversations with graphic novelist David Lester, clilmate justice organizer Naisha Khan, artist Damian John and more!” North by Northwest (CBC Radio 1), interview
- “Q&A: Graphic novelist David Lester discusses Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel,” Vancouver Sun, write-up and Q&A
- “David Lester, Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel,” New Books Network, interview
- “David Lester’s Book Prophet Against Slavery,” Black Agenda Report, Q&A
- “Trailblazer Against Slavery,” Against the Grain/KPFA Radio, interview
- “Benjamin Lay, Prophet Against Slavery,” A Public Affair/WORT Radio (Madison), live interview
- “New England Book Awards winners and an abolitionist biography made into a new graphic book,” Boston Globe, coverage in Nina MacLaughlin’s column
- “Benjamin Lay was the best radical vegan Quaker hunchback abolitionist of the 1700s,” Boing Boing, write-up
Prophet Against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel
David Lester with Marcus Rediker and Paul Buhle
Readers’ Guide Discussion Questions
Download the readers’ guide.
- The story opens with Benjamin traveling through New Jersey and Pennsylvania to arrive at the Quakers’ yearly meeting. He interrupts the speaker of that meeting to condemn slavery as a sin, shining a light on the hypocrisy of the speaker’s statements about Quaker principles. What do you think about Benjamin’s militant actions? Were you aware that Quakers once owned slaves?
- Benjamin discusses other radical religious groups and their beliefs (the Levellers, Lollards, etc.) when speaking with his former shipmate’s son. Their democratic beliefs were unusual for their own time, yet are more acceptable, even common, today. Are you surprised that such ideas existed in the 1600s and 1700s? Why or why not?
- Before leaving Barbados for England, after failing to change the hearts and minds of their fellow Quakers, Sarah and Benjamin opened their home and provided comfort and food to many of the enslaved. When they sailed for England to challenge those Quakers who held the real power, Sarah asked what new terrors they left for the enslaved, indicating her fear for their lives and safety now that they were leaving. What would you have done in her situation? Would you have stayed in Barbados to try to help or gone to England to make change? Or something else?
- Would Benjamin and Sarah have gone to Pennsylvania if they hadn’t also been unsuccessful in, and disowned and cast out by, congregations back in England? Or would they have stayed in England to try to foster change despite the situation? What do you think they hoped to achieve in Pennsylvania? A new start? Or something more?
- With their high hopes about their fellow Quaker William Penn’s “holy experiment,” Benjamin and Sarah were surprised to see that slavery and the treatment of the enslaved in Pennsylvania were similar to what they saw in Barbados. What might they have hoped for and expected instead?
- Even Sarah’s death did not keep Benjamin from pushing back against the barbarism of slavery. While Benjamin was steadfast in his own beliefs, do you think Sarah’s “tender feelings” and “great kindness” toward the enslaved helped strengthen his resolve more after her passing? How big an influence might Sarah have had on Benjamin?
- Is it surprising that Benjamin was allowed to teach a radical, antislavery agenda to Quaker children since not all Quakers agreed with his beliefs? Do you think there would have been pushback from their parents, much like the “parents’ rights” movements of today? Or would some of those students have been children of sympathetic parents who agreed with Benjamin’s stance?
- In the graphic novel’s postscript, it is noted that Benjamin believed slavery and racism would haunt America for centuries afterward, saying they “will be as the Poison of Dragons, and the cruel Venom of Asps, in the end, or I am mistaken.” What would Benjamin likely think of America today? Would he join today’s civil rights movements, like Black Lives Matter, or would he continue to protest independently?
- In your opinion, did Benjamin live up to the Quaker motto of “letting his life speak”? How? To that end, what about the slave-owning Quakers? Did their lives speak more to the horrors of slavery rather than the good deeds they may have done?
- If Benjamin Lay were alive today, what types of movements or organizations would he likely join, based on his values and beliefs? Would he think those movements that bring attention to the rights of animals, women, and minorities go far enough, or would he think there would be more work to be done? In what ways would he attempt to enact change in our century?
- How does the graphic novel format of Benjamin’s story shape your understanding of his life and times? Does this graphic version evoke any feelings or give insight into his personality, his life, or the history of that time that is different from your experiences reading a traditional prose book? Does it make you want to learn more?
- In the afterword “Comic Art and the Artist,” Paul Buhle states that artist David Lester’s “wordless” or purely visual pages slow down the action of Benjamin’s story and focus a reader’s thoughts. Do you agree? What thoughts came to mind when you saw these visuals?