Michelle Shocklee
While I was researching slavery in Texas for my plantation novels, I discovered the slave narratives, a body of work compiled in the 1930s. During the Great Depression, millions of people were out of work, including writers. The government created jobs under the Works Progress Administration, which included the Federal Writers' Project. Under this project, unemployed writers were sent throughout the south to interview people who had been enslaved prior to the Civil War. These former slaves were well into their 80s, 90s, and 100s, and their stories needed to be captured and preserved for future generations before they were lost. Thanks to the FWP, over 2300 narratives, 500 photographs, and several priceless recording are now archived in the Library of Congress. Reading these word-for-word narratives not only changed me, but they inspired my novel UNDER THE TULIP TREE (releasing 9.8.20) which tells the story of a young white woman who takes a job with the FWP and meets a 101-year old black woman who's story is unforgettable.
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