Alabama Slave Narratives

by Work Projects Administration (Compiler)

The view that slavery could best be described by those who had themselves experienced it personally has found expression in several thousand commentaries, autobiographies, narratives, and interviews with those who "endured." Although most of these accounts appeared before the Civil War, more than one-third are the result of the ambitious efforts of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to interview surviving ex-slaves during the 1930s. The result of these efforts was the Slave Narrative Collection, a group of autobiographical accounts of former slaves that today stands as one of the most enduring and noteworthy achievements of the WPA. Compiled in seventeen states during the years 1936-38, the collection consists of more than two thousand interviews with former slaves, most of them first-person accounts of slave life and the respondents' own reactions to bondage. The interviews afforded aged ex-slaves an unparalleled opportunity to give their personal accounts of life under the "peculiar institution," to describe in their own words what it felt like to be a slave in the United States. -Norman R. Yetman, American Memory, Library of Congress This paperback edition of selected Alabama narratives is reprinted in facsimile from the typewritten pages of the interviewers, just as they were originally typed.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Kidada · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the narratives are a bit complicated because of the period in which the interviews were taken (Jim Crow/Great Depression). I had the biggest problem with the AL because of the intrusive, problematic references of the interviewers. I was still able to capture information I needed and see the similarities and differences across the narratives as a whole. Thankfully interviewers in other states weren't nearly as bad.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treasure to have these interviews preserved for history, this volume and all the others. Yes, the interviewers during this time were sometimes racist in the way they described the interviewees, but thankfully their commentary is kept at a minimum. Really, this is also a historical piece about the time the stories were recorded as well, so I don’t think the interviewers drastically degrade the quality of the document.
We need to be grateful these stories were recorded at all, as most of these former slaves had been prevented from learning to read and write. The vast majority of the text seems to truly be what the former slaves wanted to share. It paints a picture of slavery in the South as much more complex than textbooks teach.
Experiences varied from person to person in ways you wouldn’t expect. It is enlightening to read THIER opinions on the Union and Confederacy, their recovery after the surrender, the treatment of slaves, etc. It is so interesting to read stories from people who saw Abraham Lincoln, who saw Yankee troops going through their plantations first hand, etc. Of course heartbreaking stories abound, and it’s even more emotionally devastating to hear some of these people accepted their treatment as what was due, or at least just as what was to be expected for their race. There are stories here that I will never forget, and it was well worth the read.
We need to read primary sources of all kinds, especially from people groups that have been in most ways completely silenced.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm 1/4-way through, Iwonder a little about Federal Writers' Project's intention with this.
(and what questions they asked:-)
Seems like an interesting project that I'll look more into
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/sn...

All the interviews are quite short, and yes cruel punishments, families being divided etc are mentioned; But it seems that most of the slaves in the collection, had a somewhat privileged slave-life (living in the big house, having kind and generous owners (but mean overseers!), getting plenty to eat) - part of the explanation is of course - that they were the ones who lived to be 80-90 years old, and be interviewed. It's also interesting that several of them seem to miss their old "secure life", having been born into slavery.

[E.J.F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖍️This is part of a series of interviews the United States government (under the WPA) conducted with former slaves in Alabama during The Great Depression. It’s interesting to read the former slaves’ recollections and events they experienced or overhead during the slave years, and their general thoughts on the current world and society. Many, but not all, of the interviews were transcribed in dialect, so reading them is all the more special. It continues to fascinate me how many of them speak about how the youngsters of their current day don’t appreciate what they have and that they are generally “lazy” (Some thoughts and comments such as these just don’t change over the centuries, do they?), and that they had a better life under slavery since they had every need securely supplied on the plantation. The contemporary black and white photographs add greatly to this work of valuable history and research.

📙Published in 1941.

🟢The e-book version can be found at Project Gutenberg.
🟣 Kindle.
ˋ°•*⁀ ˋ°•*⁀➷

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely riveting.

[Forked Radish]

Warning: the n-word is used, not as a pejorative, but as a term of description, often self-description (it’s derived from the latin word negrum) many times in these narratives. Offended? Good!