Synopses & Reviews
The experience of slavery told by the people who lived it--in their own words. An adaptation of HBO's documentary special for 2003, Unchained Memories is a riveting compilation of more than 40 narratives drawn from interviews with former slaves conducted in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. From slave auctions to emancipation, the narratives trace the extraordinary experience of life in perhaps the darkest period of our nation's history. Readers will shudder at the vivid accounts--told in the dialect of the former slaves--of the painstaking labor and abuse to which slaves were subjected, and they will be moved by the recollections of family life, slave weddings, and other special occasions. Resonant with the deep-seated feeling that marks the institution of American slavery, Unchained Memories is an accessible and compelling volume that is certain to be talked about for years to come.
- Unchained Memories carries the same title as HBO's lead documentary for 2003 commemorating Black History month and draws on the same original source material.
- Here are the powerful stories told in the voices of former slaves who recall their early experiences of slave auctions, field work, running away, and, finally, emancipation.
- The authenticity and credibility of slave narratives are always hotly debated. Essays in this book will put the WPA interviews in context.
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is recognized as a leading expert in this field; Spencer Crew is a widely admired museum director and historian.
- All of HBO's proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
- The HBO documentary Unchained Memories was produced inassociation with the Library of Congress.
Synopsis
An adaptation of HBOUs documentary special for 2003, "Unchained Memories" is a riveting compilation of more than 40 narratives drawn from interviews with former slaves conducted in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. From slave auctions to emancipation, the narratives trace the extraordinary experience of life in perhaps the darkest period of the nation's history.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-156).