Harriet Jacobs (1813 or 1815 - 1897) was an African American writer. Born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina, she was sexually harassed by her master. When he threatened to sell her children, she hid in a tiny crawlspace under the roof of her grandmother's house, where she wasn't even able to stand. After staying there for seven years, she finally managed to escape to New York. Her autobiography, published in 1861, is now considered an American classic.