Name/Title
Long past slavery : representing race in the Federal Writers' ProjectEntry/Object ID
Library. 2121Description
xv, 353 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Long past slavery : representing race in the Federal Writers' Project by Catherine A. Stewart.
Summary: From 1936 to 1939, the New Deal's Federal Writers' Project collected life stories from more than 2,300 former African American slaves. 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 were used to craft arguments for and against full inclusion of African Americans in society.
Description: 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 freed people 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."--Back cover.
Includes: Viola Muse -- Zora Neale Hurston -- Carita Doggett Corse -- Florida Negro Writers' Unit -- Slavery.Collection
LibraryLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
BookNomenclature Sub-Class
Other DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsSearch Terms
African Americans -- Race identity -- History -- 20th century., United States -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century., Federal Writers' Project., Muse, Viola., Corse, Carita Doggett, 1892-1978., Hurston, Zora Neale.Publication Details
Author
Stewart, Catherine A.Publisher
University of North Carolina PressPlace Published
* Untyped Place Published
Chapel Hill, North CarolinaCall No.
E 185.625 .S763 2016ISBN
9781469626260