UNBOUND

Stories of life from the formerly enslaved

An exploration of the New Deal project documenting the lives of the formerly enslaved

by Amos.Design

between 1936 and 1938, the Federal writers’ project (WPA) traveled around the country speaking with the living Americans who had endured slavery.

the images and stories they collected would form an important record of the lives and communities unalterably shaped by America’s most perverse institution.

but they also witnessed the strength of human resolve, the power of life, and a portrait of the country’s truest Americans

A word of caution: The following collection includes scenes of violence, human bondage, and offensive language.

Mrs. Mary Crane

In all, the wpa interviewed more than 2000 former slaves.

But the collection is not without criticism, the interviewers of the wpa were nearly all white and they were instructed to record their interviews by reconstructing the spoken vernacular which resulted in the continuation of stereotypes and prejudice.

but like all projects and interviews, they are a product of their time, and the preservation of the stories and recordings of former slaves provides us with a window, however contorted by bias, into the lives of the formerly enslaved.

Mr. Bert Frederick

Mr. John C. Becton

while the project captured stories that would have otherwise been lost, it didn’t always record its subject’s lives after enslavement.

The point of the program was to record the stories of enslavement before the last generation to directly experience it had passed away.

But as we still struggle to understand the magnitude of slavery’s enduring effects, these interviews often only provided us with a scant view of the lives lived after enslavement.

Mr. Charlie Williams with his Grandaughter

The details they do contain offer us a first hand glimpse of the horrors of American Chattel slavery.

-Mr. Willis Winn

-Mr Henry Cheatam

-mr. Prince Bee

-Ms. Sallie Carder

Some accounts also describe the barbarity that slave owners brought up on themselves. A system of violence begetting violence.

-ms. Amy Chapman

-Mr. Lewis Bonner

-Ms Nancy Rogers Bean

While others described how they experienced and witnessed families split off and sold with little regard for those left behind.

-Mr. Prince Bee

-Ms. Martha Cunningham

-ms. Joanna Draper

Mr. Doc Daniels Dowdy

-mr Wililam Colbert

-Mr. Oliver Bell

a common theme among the interviewees was the power that information, in their case a lack of information, had in their situations.

particularly after the civil war.