Art reflects society, it gives insight into the past, ideas about the future, details about history and culture. The Abolitionist Art and Literature you've read about exposes us to the voices from the past from a moment in history of which no one should be proud. It certainly makes us reconsider art and the idea of beauty, considering so much of this art is about the horrors of slavery. It makes art something else..again...and it's not about beauty or perfection. Let's talk about that among other things. Finally, many of these are voices of people marginalized by race and gender, people who didn't matter at the time, yet history could not erase them - no matter how hard it tried. Lots to consider, no?