Raised as the daughter of a wealthy white Mississippi planter, Iola Leroy learned later in life that she had African blood and was therefore sold into slavery . After being released, Iola commits to living the rest of her life as a black woman instead of dying. The shameful experiences she experienced during her time as a slave and her admiration for the African American race to which she newly belonged were the motivating factors in her decision to live as a black woman and fight for upliftment. racial. “…I was sold by the state. to be declared as an item of merchandise. I have received insults that could have made an honest woman's cheeks blush with shame, but I have never fallen into the clutches of an owner for whom I did not feel the greatest repugnance and the most intense horror. . I have heard men speak casually of the degradation of the Negro, but there is a great difference between the degradation of condition and the degradation of character. I was humiliated, but the men who trampled on me were the most degraded. » (Harper 115) “The best blood in my veins is African blood, and I am not ashamed of it” (208). Iola was “sold by the state to be declared as an article of merchandise” (115). The way she describes herself as a “commodity” gives the reader insight into how she viewed her role as a slave. Goods are valued, purchased and hawked. It belongs to the highest bidder and is used according to the buyer's wish. As a slave, you are a commodity bought and sold in a commercial transaction. You do not belong to yourself or your family; you are someone else's property, their possession. This decline from life as the daughter of a rich and educated planter to the destitute and demoralized state of an African-American slave had no... middle of paper ... way for her to comprehend the world in which she lives. In the era in which Iola Leroy is set, physical appearance suggested intellect, so their choice to live black would have high costs. However, for racial uplift, bringing them together would lead them to be part of the elite group of blacks. This union would create more respect for the black race because it would be an example of people of color who chose their race instead of hiding from it. Unlike others who chose to pass as white, they were willing to set aside their own gains for their race. After learning of her mixed-race ancestry and her experience as a slave, Iola demonstrates her reluctance to withdraw her protection or care from the people who occupied her. she so recently discovers that they are hers. Iola sacrifices the love, fortune, and upward mobility afforded to white people to live as a black woman and promote racial uplift.