Belinda Hurmence

Before Freedom, When I Just Can Remember, edited by Belinda Hurmence (pp 135). This is the second book in a series of oral histories of former slaves. These are individuals who were interviewed in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer’s Project to provide work to unemployed writers. The former slaves were from South Carolina and were in theit 80’s and 90’s when they were interviewed, meaning all were young when enslaved. This volume includes the stories of twenty-seven men and women, and is written in their dialect with some explanatory notes. However, I was unable to discern the meaning of some words and phrases. That in no way detracted from the overall content. It’s a fascinating first person look into slavery, especially as compared to dire living conditions in the post-Reconstruction South when many blacks were, for all practical purposes, re-enslaved. Virtually none of these individuals could read or write, so these are oral histories in the strictest sense.… (mere)

Editor Belinda Hurmence’s My Folks Don’t Want Me To Talk About Slavery provides excerpts about the lives of ex-slaves. Much of this narrative originated through the Federal Writers’ Project that was created to provide work for jobless writers and researchers. It initiated a program whereby field workers interviewed ex-slaves wherever they were found. But the contents of this book represented a compilation of stories of ex-slaves in North Carolina.
Each ex-slave’s narrative begins with where he or she was born in North Carolina. A discussion followed and the slaves who were mainly in their “eighties and nineties” described their lives in slavery. They commented about their meagre diets of cornbread, meats, and molasses, and their inadequate clothing. They talked about having working in the fields from sun up to sun down, and the whippings they received from their master or mistress when they disobeyed them. The slaves’ rules were often harsh, and based on the whims of the slave holders.
Many ex-slaves were encouraged to attend the church of their master and mistress. They would hear the preacher talk about how they should obey their master. But they were never given the chance to learn from books. For it was against the rules for them to be caught reading a book or a newspaper. These slaves couldn’t even read the Bible. So for the most part, a majority of the ex-slaves didn’t even know how to read or write.
It was however surprising to hear that many of these ex-slaves liked being with their master and mistress. Some of them said that they were well-treated, and they enjoyed their slave holders. On the other hand one wonders if these ex-slaves were only saying what they thought the interviewers wanted to hear. Many of them though thought that even after they were emancipated that their living conditions were worse. This was because they had their freedom, but had no one to care for them with a cabin, food, and clothing. Many of these ex-slaves therefore opted to remain with their slave master and mistress, for they lacked the means to take care of themselves.… (mere)