Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves: Vol. II Arkansas Narratives Part 1

by Work Projects Administration

The informants in this volume, from the state of Arkansas, have surnames beginning with A-B, from Silas Abbott to Emmett Augusta Byrd.

The typewritten records in this volume were 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2006

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1936-38, interviewers from the Work Projects Administration traveled around the South and found former slaves to interview. This volume, Arkansas Part 1, contains the narratives of 103 individuals with last names beginning with A-B. Though they all lived in Arkansas at the time of the interviews, they didn't necessarily experience slavery in Arkansas. They may have been born, raised, and been slaves, in some other state.

The interviewees ranged in age from 60s to centarians. The vast majority had been children in the final years of slavery, which is very important to note. They had only their childhood memories of it (and some had no memory of it at all), in addition to what their parents had told them they experienced as slaves. What was most surprising to me about their stories was how many had good relationships with their owners, or their parents had good relationships with their owners. To a degree, it became apparent to me, these good relationships probably had to be looked at in the context of childhood. That is, slave children were going to be better treated than adult slaves, automatically. Young children were not going to be whipped in the way adult slaves were. Young children were not going to be whipped for trying to escape the plantation. Young children were not going to even attempt to escape. In some of these narratives the ex-slave expresses how kind their owners were, even how they loved the missus owner. In some cases the slave children and the master's white children were raised together; they played together, with the same toys; they sometimes ate meals together. In some cases the slaveowner's wife doted on the slave children and actually suckled them. Some former slaves told of being taught to read, write, and do arithmetic by their owners, while others were not taught anything because either the law forbade it, or because their owners had no interest in having educated slaves. There are stories here both of slaveowners adoring the slave children they owned, and adult slaves adoring the children of the slaveowners. (Sample comment from an 80 year old: "They treated us so nice that when they said freedom come, I thought I was always free.")

Of course, not all the narratives express these fond feelings. There are stories of slave whippings and slave auctions. But many of the former slaves never saw whippings or slave auctions, although they heard about them secondhand. Some owners forbade their overseers to whip their slaves.

When freedom came, many of the ex-slaves chose to stay on with their masters either in sharecropping positions, or as domestic servants. For many of them the personal relationship did not change at all, except that they now received wages for the same labor. Frankly it was surprising how many ex-slaves chose this path. The former slaves who had good relations with their owners mostly seemed to stay, while the ones who had cruel masters got the hell out of there.

Some of the narratives opined that relations between blacks and whites had been much better under slavery than they were now in the 1930s. A very commonly expressed opinion (obviously one of the set questions the interviewers were asking) was that today's youth had no sense of work, and were lazy, only taking jobs that were easy, whereas back in slavery days and the years following, ex-slaves knew the value of hard work and weren't intimidated by field work or farming.

Another commonly expressed point was that voting served little or no purpose. Nothing "came" of it. Nothing changed. Some ex-slaves said that they had voted in earlier years, but no longer did. Some said they had never voted and didn't care to. Some said that the vote was wasted on women because women didn't follow politics.

As important as these narratives are, they form just one small piece of the puzzle of slavery. As odd as it is to say, and as real as the memories are, I have to conclude that they paint an overly rosy picture of it. I think my next slavery read, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, will provide a portrayal not as rosy and add to the complex puzzle.

(I came across this volume because it was actually shelved at the wrong library. It belongs to a branch library in one of the neighborhoods which is probably 95% African-American.)

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended and I think you can find most of the series for free at Project Gutenberg, so there are no reasons not to try at least some of the stories to come from the Slave Narratives project.

I think this series is indispensable in understanding slavery in the US and the lives of ex-slaves post-emancipation and that it's therefore something that all Americans should experience at some level, even if it's just to flip through and read a selection of stories.

The strength of this book is in the number of people interviewed, the variety of their experiences, and the bigger picture which flows from these multiple accounts. You really start to form an idea of what the institution of slavery was like at a personal level, something which looking back was a major gap, at least in my education.

My only regret is that I didn't come upon these books earlier and that they weren't taught anywhere I went to school.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really taught me about the evils, yes, of slavery, but also about the complexity of the issue. These ex-slaves were interviewed in the 1930s, and they were all in their 80 and 90s (and older). I expected to hear about beatings and violence, but I never knew how it was really administered. What they show in movies doesn't do it justice. There is one entry that is truly disturbing about how one master made sure his female slaves got pregnant. Eww--all real. But the surprising thing for me, was the number of people who said they were treated decently. They rejoiced when freedom came, but still said their masters were kind. I suppose I imagined it like a film where slaves are miserable and finding any way to escape, but in reality, many stayed on to share-crop after emancipation. There are several of these books, and I'd like to read more. Truly amazing, and important for every American to read.

[Anne Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We was glad to be set free. I didn’t know what it would be like. It was just like opening the door and lettin the bird fly out. He might starve, or freeze, or be killed pretty soon but he just felt good because he was free.”
Ever wonder what former slaves really thought about freedom, or about slavery? This poignant quote from this volume just about sums it up in a nutshell right here. This book is full of unvarnished tidbits of truth spoken by those who lived it or at the very least watched their parents and grandparents live it for a few years. I can’t wait to read more of these interviews done by the Works Progress Administration back in the early 1900’s.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Slave Narratives were written in the 1930 as a WPA project. Former Slaves both mean and women were recorded by different individuals in the diffeent states. I have read them on my Kindle. They are either free or $0.99. Being cheap I have not read the costly ones. The quality varies from recorder to recorder.

To read these narratives was a religous experience in that I was both fascinated and repelled by what I read. I will say no more: read then for yourself and grow.

These are a must read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating account of interviews with former slaves many of whom are from places I know very well around the Baltimore and Washington Metropolitan areas. The only disappointment was the brevity of the interviews and the overall short length of the book. BUT, otherwise an important first-person historical narrative of a time in history that many would like to sweep aside in favor of more pleasant memories.

[Luckngrace · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are all true life stories of slaves. There are many of these books and they are all must-reads. Give a copy as a graduation gift.

[Jodi Gilroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A refreshing non-fiction book of the people who actually lived through it.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

almost done with it. These books are always so good. I always find myself reading these out loud to the family.

[Dalia DJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A piece of American History one must read.

[Elizabeth-anne Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection of oral history.