Poe - 'The Raven' and Slavery

Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven (1845) channels slavery and this was recognized even at the time, as can be seen in the cartoon below (from 1863), where a disheveled Confederate slave owner is haunted by a "Negro" raven sitting atop the head of Horace Greeley, famously influential northern newspaper editor and proponent of abolition.

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted -- nevermore!

Now, that is not the text that appears next to this cartoon. The actual text satirizes the slave owner mentality and ends with the stirring call for freedom.

THE SLAVE OWNER'S SPECTRE.

And the Nigger never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On that horrid bust of HORACE just above my chamber-door;
And his lips, they have the snigger, of a worthless freeborn Nigger,
And he swells his sombre figger, when I ask him, with a roar,
"Will you blacks again be Cattle, as you used to be before?"
Cries the Chattel, "Never more!"|
- Source: Son of the South

The Gauguin painting shown up top, with its clear allusion to The Raven, is too complex and ambiguous a work to describe here, but I think it's safe to say that it shows that Gauguin was very aware of the impact of French colonialism in Tahiti and his own role within it.

This reminds me of another superb illustration that runs into the same problem, William Blake's Europe supported by Africa and America from 1796.

This allegorical image is in the tradition of ‘The Four Continents’, in which the continents are depicted as female figures. Blake, the abolitionist, has included gold arm bands on the arms of Africa and America to symbolise their enslavement to the central figure of Europe. However, the fact that Europe is being physically supported by her companions suggests the possibility of a more equitable relationship.
- Victoria and Albert Museum

Unsurprisingly perhaps, this text on the V&A website is accompanied by this warning and disclaimer: "This object, or the text that describes it, is deemed offensive and discriminatory. We are committed to improving our records, and work is ongoing." In other words, any attempt to find a silver lining in the horrific effects of slavery is deemed to be part of the colonialist and racist mind set.