Slave Narratives North Carolina

by Work Projects Administration

This state publication has just been reprinted and provides a unique and virtually unsurpassed collective portrait of early Black History in America. Indeed, historian David Brion Davis has argued that the voluminous number of documented slave testimonies available in the United States "is indisputably unique among former slaveholding nations." In addition to the substantial number of life histories it contains, the most compelling feature of the collection is the composition of the sample of people who made up its informants. February is BLACK HISTORY MONTH and general public will be looking for books on the African American experience of slavery. This state slave narratives publication is a candid look at slavery in the state.

Genres: History

600 pages, Library Binding

First published June 15, 2006

Reviews

[E]

3.5 stars, whereas to me the Texas edition of this book was 4 stars. Either way, both are difficult and important reads. I don't feel that I received a lot - if any - of first person accounts when learning about slavery and the Civil War in school, so I am very glad that these accounts exist and are accessible to the public.

[Ann]

Reading Challenge for this month: Non-fiction written by an author from my state...

So I chose this oral history of enslaved people that were born before the Civil War, and freed shortly after. It is my third book from the Federal Writers' Project, and I truly wish everyone could read these personal histories. They are enlightening & frighteningly real, some are funny, most are pictures into the psychology of being enslaved.

[Liz Schimmel]

Everyone should read any of the state Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 -1938 as these narratives are interviews with people who were slaves. These are the stories of people who lived through slavery, the truth about this awful time in US history and one that needs to be heeded so it is not repeated.

[Nora Beck]

Unsanitized dialectical first-person accounts from people born into slavery. Few surprises here, dialect a challenge at times, but definitely to be read.

[Ellen]

An overlooked perspective of understanding the history of slavery and the difference between what happened and what was taught. I’m so very thankful these first-hand accounts were documented. They brought to light so many Emancipation consequences that I had never considered: 

1.) Consequences of releasing illiterate people without property, money, or support 
2.) The loyalty many had to their masters
3.) The diversity of treatment from extreme cruelty to civil 
4.) Fear of the Yankees by many slaves

This was an insightful reading experience that everyone should read.

[Susan Molloy]

✒️ This is part of a series of interviews the United States government (under the WPA) conducted with former servants in North Carolina during 1936-38 (during The Great Depression). It is interesting to read the recollections of these former servants and the events they experienced. Excellent for my research projects.

📕Published — 1941. In the public domain.

જ⁀🟢Part I e-book is on: ρ𝕣ꪮ𝕛ꫀᥴ𝕥 ᧁꪊ𝕥ꫀꪀ᥇ꫀ𝕣ᧁ.
જ⁀🟢Part II e-book is on: ρ𝕣ꪮ𝕛ꫀᥴ𝕥 ᧁꪊ𝕥ꫀꪀ᥇ꫀ𝕣ᧁ.
༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻

[Sam]

This was an amazing book - incredibly insightful with immense historical relevance. The initial difficulty with reading the work due to edit markings is easily overcome.

However, I regret that they stopped the published work at the end of the 'B's.

[Yaaresse]

I first encountered some of these in a college class while studying oral history methods. Over the years, I've managed to read the rest of them. Fascinating stuff.