Unchained Memories: Readings From the Slave Narratives
- Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA).
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews With Former Slaves by
Call Number: Africana Library E444 .F43 2013From 1936 to 1938, the Works Projects Administration (WPA) commissioned writers to collect the life histories of former slaves. This work was compiled under the Franklin Roosevelt administration during the New Deal and economic relief and recovery program. Each entry represents an oral history of a former slave or a descendant of a former slave and his or her personal account of life during slavery and emancipation.
Selected Books
How the Slaves Saw the Civil War: Recollections of the War Through the WPA Slave Narratives by
Call Number: Africana Library E453 .C83 2014Drawing from narratives of former slaves to provide accurate and poignant insights, this book presents descriptions in the former slaves' own words about their lives before, during, and following the Civil War. * Supplies the actual words of former slaves used in the narratives, giving readers not only a better sense of the individuals' experiences but also of the oral tradition of African Americans during the Civil War period * Includes carefully selected images of the time to underscore key concepts in the narratives and historical events and to engage the reader * Provides an extensive bibliography of other reliable sources appropriate for further research by general readers, academics specializing in African American history, and Civil War buffs alikeSlave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives From the Federal Writers' Project by
Call Number: Olin Library Oversize E444 .S55 2014 +For the first time, the WPA Slave Narratives are organized by theme, making it easier to examine--and understand--specific aspects of slave life and culture. * Provides topically arranged access to views expressed in the slave narratives, something never done before * Offers students both contextual analysis and primary source material so they can draw their own conclusions about various aspects of slavery * Creates a personalized understanding of the challenges that accompanied enslavement * Allows various populations, such as previously enslaved women, to speak bluntly about the particular difficulties they faced under slaveryThe American Slave: A Composite Autobiography by
Call Number: Africana Library E441 .A51 1972This 19 volume set includes transcriptions of narratives prepared by the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-38, and deposited in the Library of Congress, where they were assembled under title: Slave narratives, a folk history of slavery in the United States from interviews with former slaves.