Envisioning “Negro Education” in the British West Indies: Emma Soyer’s <i>Two Children with a Book</i>

Abstract Composed to solicit sympathy for the plight of enslaved Black children in the British West Indies, Emma Soyer’s 1831 painting Two Children with a Book depicts two well-dressed Black girls as pious and literate individuals. Since coming to public attention in 2018 through an episode of BBC’s Fake or Fortune?, Soyer’s positive portrayal of Black children and “negro education” has led a number of scholars and public audiences to closely associate the painting with support for the end of slavery rather than British women’s advocacy for education. Brokenborough argues, however, that the painting’s focus on Black children’s literacy does not unequivocally indicate an abolitionist stance in favor of immediate emancipation. By examining period literature representing various opinions on slavery as well as popular antislavery visual culture directed toward British women like Soyer, this article challenges previously held assumptions about Two Children with a Book and its relationship to antislavery activism. Ultimately, the article asserts that the painting represents ideas about educating enslaved people and British women’s interest in Black children’s literacy, especially that of Black girls, more than it expresses clear support for ending slavery.