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Biography · Biography & Culture

Archy Lee

1840–1873

United States

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Biography

Archy Lee (1840–1873), was an African American man born into enslavement; and was later part of a series of notable 19th-century court cases that defined civil rights in the state of California. In 1857, he was brought from Mississippi (a slave state) to Sacramento, California (a free state) and continued to work as if he was enslaved. He escaped while in California, but was later arrested and brought to a number of court trials.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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