Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. Administrative Files Selected Records Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives

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Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. Administrative Files Selected Records Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives

by United States. Work Projects Administration

EN·~38 minutes·14 chapters

Chapters

14 total
1

TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT 1936-1938 ASSEMBLED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

0:14
2

A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves

0:05
3

FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

0:59
4

INTRODUCTION

8:57
5

SELECTED RECORDS Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives

1:36
6

Sent to: NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, LOUISIANA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, OKLA. April 1, 1937 Mrs. Eudora R. Richardson, Acting State Director Federal Writers' Project, WPA Rooms 321-4, American Bank Building Richmond, Virginia Subj: Folklore

1:22
7

(Transcript of Preceding Autograph Memorandum) 4/9/37

0:50
8

Sent to: North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma. April 14, 1937 Mr. Edwin Bjorkman State Director, Federal Writers' Project Works Progress Administration City Hall, Fifth Floor Asheville, North Carolina

2:02
9

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION Federal Writers' Project 1500 Eye St. N.W. Washington, D.C. SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS #9-E To THE AMERICAN GUIDE MANUAL FOLKLORE STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

9:40
10

May 3, 1937 Mr. Edwin Bjorkman, State Director Federal Writers' Project, WPA City Hall, Fifth Floor Asheville, North Carolina Subj: Ex-slave Narratives

1:07

Description

These recordings capture the raw, unfiltered voices of people who lived through America’s slave system, gathered in the late 1930s by a federal team tasked with preserving folk history. Interviewers traveled across a dozen Southern and Mid‑Western states, inviting former slaves to recount childhood chores, family bonds, and the moments that shaped their lives. The material is presented exactly as spoken, preserving dialect, rhythm, and the spontaneous storytelling that brings the past into immediate focus.

Listening to this collection feels like stepping into a living archive, where each narrative reveals the daily realities of labor, faith, and resistance in a time often reduced to statistics. The breadth of regions—from the cotton fields of Alabama to the river towns of Missouri—offers listeners a mosaic of experiences, highlighting both shared hardships and unique local customs. As a primary source, the work invites empathy and a deeper understanding of how ordinary people endured, survived, and remembered a painful chapter of history.

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Full title

Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. Administrative Files Selected Records Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives Selected Records Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives

Language

en

Duration

~38 minutes (36K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Andrea Ball and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team, from images provided by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.

Release date

2004-10-25

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

United States. Work Projects Administration

United States. Work Projects Administration

Created during the Great Depression, this New Deal agency put millions of Americans to work on roads, schools, parks, airports, and other public projects. Its reach also extended into the arts, supporting writers, artists, musicians, and actors through landmark cultural programs.

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