Imagine a Black lawyer, once enslaved, standing in a 19th-century Brazilian courtroom and defeating slaveholders with their own laws. Luiz Gama v. Slavery tells the extraordinary story of Luiz Gama, a fearless abolitionist who used the legal system to free hundreds of enslaved people and redefine justice in a slaveholding society. Drawing on hundreds of rare court records, petitions, and long-forgotten legal writings, this volume highlights Gama's legal genius and political courage. The award-winning research behind this volume offers more than a biography--this work provides a new history of law, race, and freedom in Brazil. It traces Gama's odyssey from bondage to liberation, and his transformation of the courtroom into a battlefield for emancipation.