As I was reading about slavery in Virginia and Richmond itself, I was horrified at how inhumane slaveowners were towards these human beings. They had no qualms about separating African families, or denying them an education, or allowing them to have some chance at freedom. What I noticed was that even poor white people in bond servitude were allowed a shot at freedom, but this was mostly not offered to enslaved Africans. I knew how atrocious slavery was from my previous education, but reading some firsthand accounts really sealed the deal on how much I did not know. The story about Anthony Burns and his incarceration in Lumpkin’s Slave Jail was absolutely sickening, even more so because of the nature of this primary source. One thing I did find interesting was that some Black people were allowed to join certain churches, although many of them had to be supervised by white leaders. I also never realized how much work was going on behind the scenes in the anti-slavery movement. I didn’t know that some anti-slavery newspapers were published, at least not the ones that I hadn’t already learned about.