Exigence in our Nig

I think that the exigence which motivated Wilson to write Our Nig was comprised mostly of three parts. I think the first part of the exigence was Wilson's need to correct assumptions about the lives of free blacks in the North. She describes a mistress who has southern values, and treats her with the same racial disdain and cruelty a southern slave owner might. Wilson wanted to show that freedom didn't necessarily mean a better life. She was motivated by cruelty to expose the conditions so many free blacks lived under, hoping it would be a call to action that would turn the situation around.
Wilson was also motivated by her current financial situation, and need for independence. Because poor health had limited her ability to work later in life, she needed the income writing could provide so that she could remain independent. This is supported by her call for support and "patronage" from her fellow African Americans, whom she hoped would support her message, of course, but also her income.
Finall,y I believe that the exigence which made up Wilson's motivation to write was in part provided by a need for catharsis and resistance. She had been controlled, manipulated, and put-down time after time by the family she served. The title of the book, "Our Nig," is meant to expose the prejudices and feelings of that family. I also believe it is meant as an insult and final act of resistance toward the family. Wilson is saying that she may have been considered "our nig" by the family, but she is free enough to write about that family, and to expose their cruel practices.