Sketches of Slave Life and From Slave Cabin to the Pulpit

Regenerations: African American Literature and Culture

by Peter Randolph, Katherine Clay Bassard (Editor)

This book is the first anthology of the autobiographical writings of Peter Randolph, a prominent nineteenth-century former slave who became a black abolitionist, pastor, and community leader. Randolph’s story is unique because he was freed and relocated from Virginia to Boston, along with his entire plantation cohort. A lawsuit launched by Randolph against his former master’s estate left legal documents that corroborate his autobiographies. Randolph's writings give us a window into a different experience of slavery and freedom than other narratives currently available and will be of interest to students and scholars of African American literature, history, and religious studies, as well as those with an interest in Virginia history and mid-Atlantic slavery. 
 

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

Peter Randolph (1825?-1897)

Reviews

[Jana Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for a class. Very good book. Easy to read as far as language. Difficult to read as far as learning what happened during the years of slavery. I recommend this book as a very good and insightful read.

[Yibbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How blessed we are! And how thoughtlessly we squander those same blessings! Part of that blessing is this beautiful testimony. Don’t squander the edification of his teachings. Don’t squander the encouragement of his faith. Don’t squander the beauty of his forgiveness. Mostly, though, don’t squander the redemption his shows every reader. I think that’s what stood out to me the most through this story. His determination to make the most of himself and those around him for his Savior. From teaching himself to read and preach, to working for years to obtain his and others freedom, or to taking on the pastorate of a destitute churches, he pours himself into doing what God calls him to do. I pray that I can have such dedication to God’s work.
That was the wonderful part. The horrible part was what he suffered as a slave. Even though it’s a short book, he powerfully chronicles lifetimes of suffering and sorrow. It’s hard to read. Being directed at the people of his own time, parts of it are full of pleas to action and prayer. Today, it makes the reader look around and evaluate their own actions and attitudes to their own time.
I would strongly recommend it. It’s not a polished memoir, but it is powerful.