
audiobook
by United States. Work Projects Administration
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
A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves
FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
INTRODUCTION
SELECTED RECORDS Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives
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
(Transcript of Preceding Autograph Memorandum) 4/9/37
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
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
May 3, 1937 Mr. Edwin Bjorkman, State Director Federal Writers' Project, WPA City Hall, Fifth Floor Asheville, North Carolina Subj: Ex-slave Narratives
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.
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.

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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