Not written by themselves: Oral yet recorded narratives of slavery

Abstract This chapter examines oral yet recorded narratives of slavery, beginning with Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech, whose misrepresentation by Frances Gage emphasizes why readers must have nuanced and contextualized analyses of race and gender when examining texts that were transcribed for Black people. It highlights how narratives not written by formerly enslaved Black people themselves, including the WPA interviews, still reveal Black thought, resilience, and oppression, even with potential editorial distortions. The chapter also explores Negro spirituals as coded expressions of resistance and liberation, linking oral and written traditions. It considers William Still’s Underground Railroad Records as a Black-produced oral archive that highlights Black people’s leadership in the movement to abolish slavery. Finally, the chapter argues that oral narratives of slavery complement self-written texts in preserving Black voices.