Slavery

In the 1930's, the Federal Writer's Project of the Works Progress Administration, under the order of President Roosevelt, devoted itself to interviewing former slaves who were then in their eighties, nineties and even older. Here are some of these first hand narratives. They vividly describe the painful but sometimes humorous lives of men and women who endured slavery. The stories, together with a selection of traditional Negro spirituals, arouse pathos and admiration for these brave souls.