一名非裔美国士兵在奴隶拍卖场外站岗。佐治亚州亚特兰大，1864年。

If a black union soldier is guarding it there’s no slave auction. The slaves of Atlanta had been freed by the union, the auctions closed and the soldier just happens to be there for a reason unknown. The picture was probably taken because it represented an interesting juxtaposition/cruel irony but a union soldier would never guard an actual slave auction.

The fact that there is a photograph from the Civil War shows how recent it really was. Slavery was not some ancient history

That wasn't that long ago. Selling humans in downtown Atlanta.

He better put his phone down and pay attention.

I’m interested in the fact that he seems to be reading a book, when I understand that teaching a black person to read or learning to read as a black person was criminal at that time.

Thought it was a store for negros, not a store FOR negros common mistake

This photo is taken in front of Crawford, Frazier, & Company, one of at least 16 “auction and slave yards” in Atlanta. Crawford and Thomas Goodrum Frazer opened their business on Whitehall Street in 1863. Enslaved men, women, and children were separated from their families and auctioned as commodities there. By the time the U.S. Army occupied Atlanta in September 1864, a sign was all that remained of the business. Most of Whitehall Street had been destroyed by the 33rd Massachusetts as part of U.S. Col. William Cogswell’s Plan of Destruction. U.S. Col. Adin Underwood wrote that soldiers destroyed the “negro markets . . . never to be set up again.” The former site is now the Five Points MARTA station. This text comes from a digital exhibit hosted at the Atlanta History Center.

I wonder what he is reading

Blacks owned slaves. The very first "slave" court case in Virginia was a black slave owner accusing a white slave owner of stealing his slaves and he won. I hope people really realize why there is such a push to change this particular time frame's history in schools and in general. This time reveals how to beat the Corporations and bring things into balance. After the civil war, all that was left in the South were the poor whites, exslaves, and Northern Troops. From this "public schools" in America were started. Then the troops left and the Corporations came back. The exslaves and poor whites were allies at this point, so when the Corporations tried to underpay the workers, they couldn't because the coalition between the exslaves and poor whites was so strong that they could dictate their pay. Hence the first "sundown laws". They were not enacted because whites/blacks hated each other. At this point in history, neither has anything. They were enacted to break them from socializing (step 1)so they could pay them or not(company towns etc)sound familiar?. .. I don't know if anyone understood (truly) what I just wrote but it should shed some light on today's circumstances. Sometimes the answer is in the question. How does 1% of the population accumulate 99% of the wealth and no one comes after them?----what I just told you was actually in a PBS documentary on the Civil War. A few months ago, I showed it to someone, and the entire part about "sundown towns" and "Jim Crow" origins was edited out. That's how serious this information is. Changed nothing else but that part. Why??

He's reading a book, sitting down- that ain't a guard position. He's having a wee break, probably reading his Bible, or maybe going through the auction houses' ledgers to find info on a relative-

Was this when America was great? I'm still looking for that mystical moment in time.

Looks like that shop was converted. The sign up top is hand painted on two boards, which contrasts to the printed letters on the shop that claims it sells kerosene and oils. I wonder what the story was behind it? Maybe as the confederates retreated, pop up auction sites came in to play? Trying to sell off remaining slaves from lost plantations?

Does anyone know where in Atlanta this building stood?

Can OP provide the actual source for this? There are a lot of people on this thread discounting what you said using the word "probably."

And he's on his fucking phone of course

"Well shit, what are we gonna auction off here now?" "Uuuuuh...Crypto?" "Come on Bill, we're slave merchants, not /monsters/."

At the same time Bosque Redondo of 1863 kit Carson to the Navajo tribe.

Is it possible Bernard had the soldier sit here for the sake of the photograph? Civil war era photographers were known to do stuff like that.

Only in Amerikkka

Hehe i take two negros pls

these pictures need to be in every damn history book this country publishes!

Imagine how hot it was

Black Friday?

I use this photo to show the brutality of slavery when teaching history. Notice it says, “sales.” That means you could just walk in a buy a human being like at a convenience store.