These are fascinating stories of the memories of ex-slaves, fourteen of which have never been published before. Although many African Americans had relocated in Oklahoma after emancipation in1865, some of the interviewees had been slaves of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, or Creeks in the Indian territory.
These are fascinating stories of the memories of ex-slaves, fourteen of which have never been published before. Although many African Americans had...
"I's born in Palestine Texas. I don't know how old I is. I was 9 years old when freedom cried out." These poignant words begin the memories of a former Texas slave interviewed by W.P.A. field workers in Oklahoma during the 1930s. This account, along with thirty-two additional oral histories recorded as part of the Federal Writers' Project, describes life as a Texas slave--the family relations, entertainment, religion, work on the plantations, foodways, and punishment. For decades the bondage of black slaves to white masters was part of everyday life in Texas, and by the eve of the...
"I's born in Palestine Texas. I don't know how old I is. I was 9 years old when freedom cried out." These poignant words begin the memories of a f...
