Henry Speller entitled this work Pig Eating Breakfast, but the animal on the page is not very recognizable. The snout appears split open and boasts long whiskers, while the eyes seem almost human. Although Speller never explicitly explained the image, a plausible interpretation is that he intended that the pig represent the exploitation of Black labor in the American South. On plantations, slaveholders dehumanized men, women, and children by forcing them to eat their meals from a shared trough like swine. After the end of slavery in the American South, pigs took on new symbolism when state and local governments passed legislation known as the Pig Laws that created a new system of forced labor. Among other things, these mandates outlawed unemployment for Black people and created heavy penalties for crimes that Black people were more likely to commit.
