When We Were Slaves (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Hundreds of Recorded Interviews, Life Stories and Testimonies of Former Slaves in the SouthBy Work Projects Administration
Length256h 28m
About this audiobook
*When We Were Slaves*, assembled under the auspices of the Work Projects Administration, gathers firsthand recollections of African Americans who endured slavery and emancipation. Its episodes of forced labor, family separation, religious faith, punishment, resistance, and uncertain freedom create a collective portrait rather than a single continuous narrative. The prose preserves the rhythms, idioms, and oral character of remembered speech, while editorial framing places individual testimony within the broader history of American slavery. As both documentary literature and vernacular life writing, the volume belongs to the New Deal-era effort to record voices often excluded from conventional archives. It also invites critical attention to the mediation of memory, transcription, and institutional selection. The WPA was not an individual author but a federal employment and cultural initiative established during the Great Depression. Through its Federal Writers' Project, interviewers sought to document local histories and the experiences of formerly enslaved people before the last witnesses disappeared. The project's democratic ambition—to preserve the testimony of ordinary citizens—was shaped by the racial assumptions, editorial practices, and regional inequalities of its time. These tensions make the collection historically revealing as well as literary. Readers interested in slavery, African American history, oral tradition, and documentary writing will find this an indispensable and affecting source. Its testimonies should be read both for the lives they illuminate and for the complex process by which lived experience becomes public history.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 4.5 (21)
Includes Goodreads
GenreHistory
Length256 hrs 28 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 16, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1When We Were Slaves (Annotated)
26Emma Chapman
2Introduction
27Henry Cheatam
3Historical Context
28Laura Clark
4Synopsis (Selection)
29Hattie Clayton
5ALABAMA
30Wadley "Shorty" Clemons
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6Charlie Aarons
31William Colbert
7Anthony Abercrombie
32Tildy Collins
8Molly Ammond (Ammonds)
33Sara Colquitt
9Charity Anderson
34Mandy McCullough Cosby
10Gus Askew
35Emma Crockett
11Tom Baker
36Cheney Cross
12Henry Barnes
37Matilda Pugh Daniel
13Nathan Beauchamp
38Carrie Davis
14Oliver Bell
39Clara Davis
15Nelson Birdsong
40George Dillard
16Ank Bishop
41Ella Dilliard
17Siney Bonner
42Rufus Dirt
18Jennie Bowen
43Katherine Eppes
19Nannie Bradfield
44Reuben Fitzpatrick
20Martha Bradley
45Heywood Ford
21Allen Brown
46Bert Frederick
22Gus Brown
47Delia Garlic
23Walter Calloway
48Angie Garrett
24Esther King Casey
49Henry Garry
25Amy Chapman
50Georgia
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