Former Slave Narratives

Federal Writers’
Project

Poster advertising guides made by the Federal Writers’ Project 2

 Federal Writers’ Project
• Est. 1935; part of New Deal.
• Branch of the Works Progress Administration.
• Employed writers, editors, historians, and
researchers out of work due to Great
Depression.
• Main project: write guide books to inform
about the history, culture, and economy of
different areas of the country.
• Also took on other writing projects
documenting aspects of American culture.

3
Slave Narratives
Project

William Colbert, Alabama Tempie Herndon, North Carolina 4

 Slave Narratives Project
• A Federal Writers Project project launched in 1937.
• Recorded interviews with former slaves about their
experiences in bondage.
• Interest in lives of former slaves had grown in 1920s and
1930s.
• FWP employees conducted interviews in 17 states with
over 2300 former slaves, and took over 500 photos.
• Most interviewers were white, with varying degrees of
interviewing experience.
• Very few interviews were taped.
• Before this collection was completely published in the
1970s, histories of slavery were told from the
perspectives of white people only, often portraying
slavery as beneficial to African Americans.
• FWP helped give a voice to those who had been silenced. 5
 Central Historical
Question
What can we learn about
slavery from interviews with
former slaves?