Raised as the daughter of a wealthy white Mississippi planter, Iola Leroy discovers later in life that she has African blood and is subsequently sold into slavery. After being freed, Iola pledges to live as a black woman for the rest of her life 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 recently belonged were the motivating factors in her decision to live as a black woman and work for racial uplift. "... I was sold by the state as an article of merchandise. I had on me indignities that might have made the cheek of an honest woman red with shame, but I never fell into the clutches of an owner for whom I did not feel the utmost disgust and the most intense horror. I have heard men speak glibly of the degradation of the negro, but there is a great difference between the humiliation of condition and the degradation of character. I was humiliated, but the men who trampled upon me were the degraded ones. ” (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 declare as an article of merchandise” (115). a “commodity article” gives the reader an idea of ​​how she perceived her role as a slave. The commodity is priced, bought and sold. It belongs to the highest bidder and is used in the way desired by the buyer is bought and sold in a business transaction. You do not belong to yourself or your family; you are someone else's property, his or her possession African American slave did not have... middle of paper... the way he understands the world he lives in During the time period in which Iola Leroy takes place, physical appearance suggested intellect, hence their choice to live. as blacks it would have had serious costs. However, for racial uplift, their meeting would have brought them into the elite group of blacks. This union would increase respect for the black race because they would be an example of black people choosing their race instead of hiding from it. Unlike others who chose to pass as white, they were willing to set aside their earnings for their race. After learning of her mixed-race ancestry and experience of being a slave, Iola demonstrates her reluctance to withdraw protection or care from the people she has so recently discovered are hers. Iola sacrifices love, fortune, and the upward mobility afforded white people to live as a black woman and promote racial uplift.