Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XII, Ohio Narratives

by United States. Work Projects Administration

"Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from…" is a collection undertaken by the Federal Writers' Project between 1936 and 1938. The project documented over 2,000 interviews with formerly enslaved individuals across seventeen states, preserving their memories before this generation disappeared. However, the collection sparked controversy: most interviewers were white, raising questions about whether subjects modified their accounts under Jim Crow conditions. The narratives became contested ground where power, race, and the right to full citizenship were negotiated through storytelling.