Belinda Sutton was enslaved to the Royall family in Medford, Massachusetts. After the start of the Revolutionary War, Isaac Royall and his family fled to Nova Scotia abandoning their home plantation in Medford and the many enslaved people who had worked for them. As an elderly woman, responsible for two children, Sutton petitioned the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1783 to provide support from Isaac Royall’s estate, which had been taken over by the state. In the petition, Sutton drew upon contemporary sentimental rhetorics to recount her life experiences growing up in Western Africa, detailing as well how she was captured and enslaved. Because Belinda could not read or write, it is speculated that lawyer and minister, Prince Hall helped her to write the petition. Eventually, the Massachusetts court decided in her favor, and granted Belinda a pension of 15 pounds, 12 shillings. Belinda’s successful petition became one of the first recorded accounts of state reparations. Unfortunately, the state of Massachusetts missed several payments, and Belinda was forced to renew her claim every year in an effort to collect the money she was entitled to.