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Title details for Long Past Slavery by Catherine A. Stewart - Available

Long Past Slavery

Representing Race in the Federal Writers' Project

by Catherine A. Stewart
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From 1936 to 1939, the New Deal's Federal Writers' Project collected life stories from more than 2,300 former African American slaves. These narratives are now widely used as a source to understand the lived experience of those who made the transition from slavery to freedom. But in this examination of the project and its legacy, Catherine A. Stewart shows it was the product of competing visions of the past, as ex-slaves' memories of bondage, emancipation, and life as freedpeople were used to craft arguments for and against full inclusion of African Americans in society. Stewart demonstrates how project administrators, such as the folklorist John Lomax; white and black interviewers, including Zora Neale Hurston; and the ex-slaves themselves fought to shape understandings of black identity. She reveals that some influential project employees were also members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, intent on memorializing the Old South. Stewart places ex-slaves at the center of debates over black citizenship to illuminate African Americans' struggle to redefine their past as well as their future in the face of formidable opposition.
By shedding new light on a critically important episode in the history of race, remembrance, and the legacy of slavery in the United States, Stewart compels readers to rethink a prominent archive used to construct that history.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 25, 2016

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

      • ISBN: 9781469628295

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781469628295
      • File size: 4964 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781469628295
      • File size: 4964 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      March 15, 2016

      Although the oral histories collected by the Federal Writers' Ex-Slave Project transformed our understanding of the history of slavery, few scholars have examined the context in which they were created. Stewart (history, Cornell Coll.) investigates how the racial politics of the 1930s impacted the creation and implementation of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) in general and its focus on collecting black folklore specifically. Editors and writers debated the authenticity of the narratives, the use of dialect, and who was qualified to interview subjects. Stewart gives particular focus to folklorists Sterling Brown, John Lomax, and Zora Neale Hurston, who played major roles in the project but with considerable controversy. Stewart's detailed analysis of voluminous correspondence and comments on drafts illuminates the high stakes of the FWP to rewrite American history and on the precipice of a global war, reshape future race relations. While some now dismiss many of the discussions owing to the power white interviewers had over their black subjects, Stewart asks us to read between the lines. VERDICT While Stewart's use of jargon may turn off general readers, this work is essential for those interested in African American history and the Great Depression.--Kate Stewart, American Folklife Ctr., Washington, DC

      Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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