Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813–1897) was an African-American writer who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist speaker and reformer. Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of ...ver maisHarriet Ann Jacobs (1813–1897) was an African-American writer who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist speaker and reformer. Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was one of the first slave narratives to explore female slaves’ struggles with sexual harassment and abuse and described their efforts to protect themselves and their children.ver menos