When it comes to the slave auction and the slave trade a lot of the time it is a point in history on which no one wants to cover. But the slave trade is a very important part in history, and the artwork that I chose to focus on is the sculpture called “Realization” by Augusta Savage, and this sculpture portrays the realization of an African American couple realizing that they were just bought in the slave auction. When looking at the picture we can see an African American man sitting next to his significant other curled up to her, with a face of fear. The woman can be seen sitting and staring off into the distance with her hands on her lap, with a face of fear as well. In comparison with the sculpture, I chose to focus on the poem “The Slave Auction” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, this poem focuses on the African Americans perspective on slavery and the auction that they are forcefully put into. In the poem there are lines detailing the woman’s perspective on the slave auction and her emotions, in the lines, “And woman, with her love and truth-For these in sable forms may dwell-Gazed on the husband of her youth, With Anguish none may point and tell.” (Harper). These lines are describing the woman’s perspective and how she is looked at during the slave auction and the line about her young husband is very impactful and it sort of relates to the sculpture of the African American couple. When it comes to the male perspective the following lines illustrate it perfectly, “And men, whose sole crime was their hue, The impress of their Maker’s hand, and frail and shrinking children too, were gathered in that mournful band.” (Harper). When it comes to the male perspective and how they are affected during the slave auction I think this line illustrates it well. In conclusion, to tie both the sculpture and poem together both are explaining the raw emotions that African Americans felt during the slave auction.

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