The Slave Auction by Frances E. W. Harper

            Anti-slavery writings were important in the abolitionists fight against slavery. The slave auction was one of the most brutal practices of the harsh system of slavery, devastating families and tearing apart entire communities. Post 1840, when slavery was prolonged into the newer lands of the lower south and southwest, the poem, "The Slave Auction," written by Frances E. W. Harper, is about the course of the trade with slaves and the feelings of people who lost their relatives because of this process. Francis E.W. Harper was born in Baltimore to African American free slaves. She attended the Academy for Negro Youth, a school run by her uncle, until the age of 13, and then found local work in a Quaker household, where she had access to a varied amount of literature. She also helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad and wrote several articles for anti-slavery newspapers, receiving her reputation as the mother of African American journalism.
             "The Slave Auction" describes an unpleasant and inhuman process of slave trade from the perspective of the victims. After thoroughly reading her poem, it gave me a different look on the slave auction. From my knowledge of a slave auction, I remember seeing pictures of how these helpless black men are sold as if they were dogs. As I read her poem, I painted a picture in my head as Francis went on explaining that being black was a crime. In line 13, "And men, whose sole crime was their hue", this clearly shows irony because now days being black is not a crime. In this situation, people who had dark skin had difficult times compared to other races since they were used as slaves and did not have the same rights as others. .
             I believe slave auctions were just wrong. Theses slaves were taken from their homeland and strip from their culture and have been brought over to the new world to produce labor and make profit off of crops.