Gay bear slave

I Was Sold on the Slave Block
by &#;Treadwell Martin&#;
as told to Harry Harrison ()

I tried to turn aside, but the guard behind me twisted the chain until the handcuffs bit into my wrists. He pushed me forward. The clear edge of the platform trim into my ankles and I stumbled and almost fell. I received a blow on the head for my clumsiness and was barely conscious of being dragged forward. The auctioneer&#;s harsh voice ground into my ears as he addressed the prospective buyers. A hard-faced Arab in the front row leaned forward and prodded my leg muscles, the way a livestock buyer would examine a horse.

The whole scene seemed unreal and ancient like an illustration from Arabian Nights, a slave market right out of the dark ages, complete with smoking lamps, Arab buyers and chained rows of slaves. But this wasn&#;t history – it was happening right now in the year , and it was happening to me.

I was being sold on the block as a slave.

Most American Negroes, like myself, are only three or four generations removed from slavery. My great-grandfather was a slave, but I know I nev