Callum, an African American man residing in Bertie County, North Carolina, was enslaved by Penelope Dawson. In 1774 Callum came to his enslaver and pleaded for special treatment on behalf of his wife, an enslaved woman whom Dawson had hired out to her cousin, Samuel Johnston of Chowan County, North Carolina. The name of Callum's wife is unknown, but Callum asked that she be treated nicely, and that in return he would not run away. Callum's statement demonstrates how enslaved people used the threat of self emancipation as a way to get their way and advocate for themselves despite the harsh circumstances of their enslavement. Callum may have been the same man as an individual named "Kallum," whom Dawson sold to William Williams in 1791. Any further information regarding this individual has not been located.