The Goophered Grapvine by, Charles W. Chesnutt

Litr Imagine yourself at the mercy of another human being. You are reliant upon this person for rations and shelter. This person controls your existence in every way possible. You are told when to wake up, what to do, how to do it and when to stop doing it. If you do not cooperate you will be beaten ruthlessly and lose whatever little you already had. This was a horrifying and discouraging period of time …

…These subjects that these African Americans wrote about must be known and understood so things like this could not happen again. Ignorance is bliss. Some disturbing images were implanted in my head but there is no candy coating when it comes to serious issues that we must be aware of. I look at African American literature like this, "leave your ignorance at the door you may not like what you read but it's the truth."