African American Oral Histories: Difference between revisions

Small clues can open up avenues of research that did not exist previously, and even a study of the history of the slave owning family can lead to other topics to research or historical records that actually document an ancestor.  The slave narratives compiled by the Works Project Administration (WPA) between 1936-1938 consist of 2,300 first person accounts of people formerly enslaved.  A study of the interviewees who were from an ancestor's locality can shed further light on the life of an ancestor and can identify other research avenues based on people, places, and events mentioned in the interview.  This article will help to identify respositories containing collections of oral history or narratives.  

== Collections  ==

*[http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/slave.htm The Slave Narrative] Narratives of slavery recounted the personal experiences of ante-bellum African Americans who had escaped from slavery and found their way to safety in the North.