I WAS A SLAVE
Book 2: The Lives of Slave Men

In the 1930's, thousands of former American slaves were interviewed in every southern state and in a few northern ones. They ranged from their seventies to over one hundred years of age. Tens of thousands of pages of these interviews are stored in about four archives across America.

In I WAS A SLAVE, the dictated words of the ex-slaves remain as they spoke them -- virtually unedited and usually in southern dialect. Included are their photographs and photos of real slave cabins and other artifacts used during slavery.

Except for a few explanatory pages, each book remains in their own words -- not rewritten. In their first-hand accounts, they tell what really happened during American slavery . Their words are amazing, tragic, hysterically funny, wise, highly educational, and spellbinding. This is a must-read series of books.

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EXCERPTS from Book 4

SARAH FORD: “She [her mother] say de white folks don't let de slaves what works in de field marry none. Dey jus' puts a man and breedin' woman together like mules. Iffen [If] de woman don't like de man, it don't make no diff'rence. She better go or dey gives her a hidin' [with a bullwhip].”

FANNIE NORMAN: “'Was de rule on many plantations in slave times, dat de women can't have any regular husband. Dey am fo'ced to live wid de one de marster tells dem to. M'ybe dey live first wid one an' den a tudder [and then another] man. Ise bo'n six months after Marster Jackson buys Mammy, so youse see how 'twas [it was] wid my family.”

ELIGE DAVIDSON: “Massa he bring some more women to see me. He wouldn't let me have jus' one woman. I have 'bout fifteen and I don't know how many chillen [children]. Some over a hunerd, I's sho'. [Some number over a hundred, I'm sure.]”

KATIE DARLING: “Massa pick out a po'tly [portly = large] man and a po'tly gal and jist put 'em together. What he want am the stock.”

JULIA MALONE: “I's ask her 'bout my father. She says dat my father am on de place, but he dies befo' I's bo'n. He was used fo' de father to sev'ral womens on de place. He was a big man. My mammy was a big women. Look at me. I's am not de runt, am I's? I'se six foot fouah [four].”

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*BOOK SERIES

The I WAS A SLAVE Book Collection is a series that will have 24 books. Currently, six books are available:

http://www.iwasaslave.com

Each separate book contains the subject matter that relates to the subtitle. For example, in Book 4, many dozens of former American slaves tell about how they were bred like cattle. They talk about their masters, their punishments, their family relationships, their secrets, and details that only they knew.

Also included are several full-life stories that are completely in their own words, too.

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To Educators: Only in this series can information be found about SPECIFIC subjects compiled into one separate book. No longer do you need to read thousands of pages to find details in the WPA slave narratives about the one subject that you want. We have done the work for you.

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