An ex-slave in the 1930s talks about how ugly slavery was on a very personal level.

…massa were a kind person when he felt like it…it were his chiren who were mean as snakes…and I were a house nigga…no pribilege…you jest closer to harm…see this here disfigurity …massa’s little boy was a rocking his chair…a rocking in his chair…dat was de same ole chair I rocked him… when he were a baby… and I were cleaning the floor on mah hands…and mah knees…and mah skirts got caught in the rocker… and I fell under de wooden curve…right under de wooden curve… and it crushed mah face…it were a broken jaw…that massa never got fixed…never took me to de doctor…never even gave a fixing for it…sally the cook gave me uh ice chunk…to put upside it…and a plate of collard greens…which I couldn’t chew…but I drank de pot likker…and so mah jaw look funny …mah jaw look funny…mah jaw look funny…but all de slaves had somepin like that…so nobody paid it any mind…but after de slavery I moved to de up nort…then I walked down de street…people stare at mah face…and turnt away…but don’t bother me none…cuz it weren’t mah fault…but when I read in de paper bout de plane crash…oh we was taught to read…after duh slavery…it were mah most precious thing… learning to read…and when I read about dah plane crashing out of dat sky…I say to myself…I hope massa’s little boy done growed up… and caught dat plane…or his chirens on it….or they chirens on it…or somebody else’s chirens on it…cuz god don’t like ugly…and slavery was ugly…just as ugly as mah jaw…that broked and weren’t never fixed…