Memorandum
July 30, 1937.
To: State Directors Of The Federal Writers' Project
From: Henry G. Alsberg, Director
The following general suggestions are being sent to all the
States where there are ex-slaves still living. They will not
apply in to your State as they represent general conclusions
reached after reading the mass of ex-slave material already
submitted. However, they will, I hope, prove helpful as an
indication, along broad lines, of what we want.
General Suggestions:
1. Instead of attempting to interview a large number of
ex-slaves the workers should now concentrate on one or two
of the more interesting and intelligent people, revisiting
them, establishing friendly relations, and drawing them out
over a period of time.
2. The specific questions suggested to be asked of the
slaves should be only a basis, a beginning. The talk should
run to all subjects, and the interviewer should take care to
seize upon the information already given, and stories
already told, and from them derive other questions.
3. The interviewer should take the greatest care not to
influence the point of view of the informant, and not to let
his own opinion on the subject of slavery become obvious.
Should the ex-slave, however, give only one side of the
picture, the interviewer should suggest that there were
other circumstances, and ask questions about them.
4. We suggest that each state choose one or two of their
most successful ex-slave interviewers and have them take
down some stories word for word. Some Negro informants are
marvelous in their ability to participate in this type of
interview. All stories should be as nearly word-for-word as
is possible.
5. More emphasis should be laid on questions concerning the
lives of the individuals since they were freed.
Suggestions To Interviewers:
The interviewer should attempt to weave the following
questions naturally into the conversation, in simple
language. Many of the interviews show that the workers have
simply sprung routine questions out of context, and received
routine answers.
1. What did the ex-slaves expect from freedom? Forty acres
and a mule? A distribution of the land of their masters'
plantation?
2. What did the slaves get after freedom? Were any of the
plantations actually divided up? Did their masters give them
any money? Were they under any compulsion after the war to
remain as servants?
3. What did the slaves do after the war? What did they
receive generally? What do they think about the
reconstruction period?
4. Did secret organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan exert
or attempt to exert any influence over the lives of
ex-slaves?
5. Did the ex-slaves ever vote? If so, under what
circumstances? Did any of their friends ever hold political
office? What do the ex-slaves think of the present
restricted suffrage?
6. What have the ex-slaves been doing in the interim between
1864 and 1937? What jobs have they held (in detail)? How are
they supported nowadays?
7. What do the ex-slaves think of the younger generation of
Negroes and of present conditions?
8. Were there any instances of slave uprisings?
9. Were any of the ex-slaves in your community living in
Virginia at the time of the Nat Turner rebellion? Do they
remember anything about it?
10. What songs were there of the period?
The above sent to: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Ga.,
Kentucky, La., Md., Mississippi, Mo., N. Car., Okla., S.
Car., Tenn., Texas, Virginia, W. Va., Ohio, Kansas, Indiana.
Memorandum
September 8, 1937
To: State Directors Of The Federal Writers' Project
From: Henry G. Alsberg
It would be a good idea if you would ask such of your field
workers as are collecting stories from ex-slaves to try to
obtain stories given to the ex-slaves by their parents and
grandparents. The workers should try to obtain information
about family traditions and legends passed down from
generation to generation. There should be a wealth of such
material available.
We have found that the most reliable way to obtain
information about the age of ex-slaves or the time certain
events in their lives took place is to ask them to try to
recollect some event of importance of known date and to use
that as a point of reference. For instance, Virginia had a
very famous snow storm called Cox's Snow Storm which is
listed in history books by date and which is well remembered
by many ex-slaves. In Georgia and Alabama some ex-slaves
remember the falling stars of the year 1883. An ex-slave
will often remember his life story in relation to such
events. Not only does it help the chronological accuracy of
ex-slave stories to ask for dated happenings of this kind,
but it often serves to show whether the story being told is
real or imagined.
Slave Narratives, 1941