Published the same year in which Solomon Northrup was freed from his enslavement, 12 Years A Slave has been a pivotal documented memoir, describing the history of violence and cruelty done to the African American community. Northrup s experience is testimony to the institutional racism in the United States, one that finally ended with the end of the American Civil War in 1856. The memoir became a vital source of history in the debate over slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. Northrup s memoir is not just about the enslavement and the injustice he faced, but also about the courage with which he faced it all; his struggle for freedom; and his honest account of all that he experienced to tell the world about the inhuman practice of slavery. After falling into obscurity for nearly a century, it was rediscovered by a historian, Sue Eakin, in 1936. The memoir was reissued in the 1960s. Since its publication, the memoir has been a bestseller and has even been adapted into two film versions the latter was released in 2013 and even received an Academy Award for Best Picture. Even today, 12 Years a Slave continues to serve as a crucial piece of historical evidence as well as a reminder of the racial injustice and brutality done to the African-American community in that era. 12 Years A Slave (1853) Published the same year in which Solomon Northrup was freed from his enslavement, 12 Years A Slave has been a pivotal documented memoir, describing the history of violence and cruelty done to the African American community. Northrup s experience is testimony to the institutional racism in the United States, one that finally ended with the end of the American Civil War in 1856. The memoir became a vital source of history in the debate over slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. Northrup s memoir is not just about the enslavement and the injustice he faced, but also about the courage with which he faced it all; his struggle for freedom; and his honest account of all that he experienced to tell the world about the inhuman practice of slavery. After falling into obscurity for nearly a century, it was rediscovered by a historian, Sue Eakin, in 1936. The memoir was reissued in the 1960s. Since its publication, the memoir has been a bestseller and has even been adapted into two film versions the latter was released in 2013 and even received an Academy Award for Best Picture. Even today, 12 Years a Slave continues to serve as a crucial piece of historical evidence as well as a reminder of the racial injustice and brutality done to the African-American community in that era.