Melton Mclaurin's Celia, A Slave

Celia, a Slave is a true story of a fourteen-year-old female slave purchased from Audrain County, Missouri by a wealthy, middle-aged, widowed, landowner named Robert Newsom from Callaway County, Missouri. Celia was the first woman of five slaves Newsom owned. She was purchased to take the place of Newsom’s late wife. In 1855, Celia was charged with killing her master after being continuously raped by him for several years. In Melton McLaurin’s Celia, A Slave, McLaurin exemplifies the oppressive difficulties of a female slave in Missouri in the 1850s. Newsom purchased Celia as the household cook but used her as his concubine. On the day Celia was purchased, she was raped by Newsom. “Life for Celia would entail continual sexual exploitation by her master” (McLaurin, 22). For 5 years, Celia was denied of her dignity and humanity as were many female slaves in the 19th century. In Missouri, sexual assault of a slave woman by a white male was not considered rape but was considered trespass. Slave women were considered property so an owner could not be charged with trespassing on his own property. “Female slaves were clearly viewed by slaveholders as an economic asset over which they had controlled” (McLaurin, 108). A master had complete and total access to and control over the bodies of his female slaves. Many slaveholders’ demanded

Slaves that were taken from their homes and families felt like did not have a safe place to go or anyone to rely on. Slaves could not rely on other slaves for protection without potentially putting the other slave’s life in danger. Some may have feared what the discipline for revolting might be. Some slaves may have been like Celia and could not resist oppression and leave because they had children. Celia could not leave her children behind, but if she brought them with her, they would slow her down so she had no choice but to