Wilson's autobiographical novel, Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, was published in 1859. Our Nig expresses the injustice of indentured servitude and racism in the antebellum northern United States. The novel fell into obscurity soon after its publication.
In 1982, it was rediscovered by professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and gained national attention when he confirmed that it was the first novel by an African American to be published in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Harriet E. Wilson