My Life In The South

A vivid first‑person account traces the author’s birth into slavery on a sprawling South Carolina plantation in 1849, detailing the lineage of his parents who were torn from Africa and sold into bondage. He paints everyday life under the ownership of the Singleton family, describing the rhythms of work, the hierarchy among hundreds of enslaved people, and the bittersweet moments when children were taken to the “sand hill” summer seat. The narrative’s clear, unflinching tone offers a rare window into the personal dimensions of an institution often reduced to statistics.

Beyond the routine of field labor, the memoir captures the bonds that formed among siblings and the quiet resistance that sustained hope. The author’s keen memory brings to life vivid scenes of family gatherings, the harsh discipline of overseers, and the small comforts that punctuated a life of oppression. Listeners will come away with a deeper, human‑scaled understanding of a painful chapter in American history, as told by someone who lived it.