Editing Slave narrative (section)

==North American slave narratives==
Slave narratives by African slaves from North America were first published in [[England]] in the 18th century. They soon became the main form of [[African-American literature]] in the 19th century. Slave narratives were publicized by [[abolitionism|abolitionists]], who sometimes participated as editors, or writers if slaves were not literate. During the first half of the 19th century, the controversy over slavery in the United States led to impassioned literature on both sides of the issue.

To present the reality of slavery, a number of former slaves, such as [[Harriet Tubman]], [[Harriet Jacobs]], and [[Frederick Douglass]], published accounts of their enslavement and their escapes to freedom. [[Lucy Delaney]] wrote an account that included the [[freedom suit]] waged by her mother in [[Missouri]] for their freedom. Eventually some 6,000 former slaves from North America and the Caribbean wrote accounts of their lives, and over 100 book-length accounts were published from formerly enslaved people worldwide.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATq5_6h2AT0C&pg=PA457 |pages=457–58 |first=Arnold |last=Schmidt |chapter=Narratives |title=The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery |editor1-first=Junius P. |editor1-last=Rodriguez |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=1997 |isbn=9780874368857}}</ref>

Before the [[American Civil War]], some authors wrote fictional accounts of slavery to create support for abolitionism. The prime example is ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' (1852) by [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]]. The success of her novel and the social tensions of the time brought a response by white [[Southern literature#Early and antebellum literature|Southern writers]], such as [[William Gilmore Simms]] and [[Mary Henderson Eastman|Mary Eastman]], who published what were called [[anti-Tom novels]]. Both kinds of novels were bestsellers in the 1850s.

===Tales of religious redemption===
From the 1770s to the 1820s, slave narratives generally gave an account of a spiritual journey leading to Christian redemption. The authors usually characterized themselves as Africans rather than slaves, as most were born in Africa.

Examples include:
* [[Ukawsaw Gronniosaw]], ''A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert "Ukawsaw Gronniosaw", an African Prince'', [[Bath, England]], 1772
* [[Olaudah Equiano]], ''[[The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano]]'', [[London]], 1789
* [[Venture Smith]], ''A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident Above Sixty Years in the United States of America'', [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], 1798
* [[Jeffrey Brace]], ''The Blind African Slave, Or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace'', as told to Benjamin F. Prentiss, Esq., [[St. Albans (town), Vermont|St. Albans, Vermont]], 1810;<ref>[http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brinch/menu.html "Boyrereau Brinch and Benjamin F. Prentiss (Benjamin Franklin), 1774 or 5-1817"], ''Documenting the South'', [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], Retrieved March 4, 2013.</ref> edited and with an introduction by Kari J. Winter, Madison, WI: [[University of Wisconsin Press]], 2004, {{ISBN|0-299-20140-6}}<ref>[http://www.sevendaysvt.com/features/2005/takenabackinvermo.html "Taken Aback in Vermont], ''[[Seven Days (newspaper)|Seven Days]]'', July 6, 2005.</ref>
* [[John Jea]], ''The Life, History, and Unparalleled Sufferings of John Jea, the African Preacher'', 1811
* [[Greensbury Washington Offley]], ''A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley, a Colored Man, Local Preacher and Missionary'', 1859

Some more recent narratives, such as [[Petro Kilekwa]]'s ''Slave Boy to Priest: The Autobiography of Padre Petro Kilekwa'' (1937), followed a similar theme.

====Islamic slave narratives====
By contrast, some slave narratives demonstrate the resiliency of Muslim spiritual identity while enslaved by Christian masters. These narratives tend to highlight the civilised, often aristocratic and scholarly background of their subjects, to emphasise their respectability and defy efforts at racial [[dehumanisation]]; and similarly, also tend to discuss their subjects' African Islamic (usually [[Fulani]]) background, to demonstrate that they have a civilisation of their own (in contrast to Christian redemption narratives, who answer racist dehumanisation by having black people achieve redemption through white Christians). 

The slave narratives of [[Ayuba Suleiman Diallo]] are one such example. Educated as an [[ulema|Islamic scholar]] in the [[Fulani]] state of [[Futa Toro]], Diallo was captured and sold to the [[Royal Africa Company]] in 1730, and thereafter brought to [[Maryland]] as a slave. During his enslavement, Diallo continued to practice Islam; and his aristocratic blood, education, literacy in multiple languages, and cultivated manner impressed elite audiences in America and Britain, challenging efforts to dehumanise him and his race. He was freed and returned to his homeland in 1734. [[James Oglethorpe]] - once governor of the [[Royal Africa Company]] - was moved by Diallo's suffering; and when he founded [[Trustee Georgia|Georgia]], he introduced a ban on slavery in 1735 (known popularly as the [[Georgia Experiment]]).
Two contemporary slave narratives of Diallo's life exist: a biography by [[Thomas Bluett]], titled ''Some Memories of the Life of Job, the Son of the Solomon''; and a firsthand memoir, within [[Francis Moore (geographer)|Francis Moore]]'s ''Travels Into the Inland Parts of Africa.''

Other examples include:
*[[Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori|Abdur-Rahman Ibrahim ibn Sori]] - a [[Fulani]] prince and [[ulema|Islamic scholar]] from [[Futa Djallon]], enslaved in 1788 on a tobacco plantation in Mississippi. His story caught the attention of abolitionist newspaper editor Andrew Marschalk, whose articles about ibn Sori gained national attention. In 1826, [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Sultan Abdur-Rahman of Morocco]] petitioned for ibn Sori's freedom; and Secretary of State [[Henry Clay]] convinced President [[John Quincy Adams]] to free ibn Sori in 1829. His narrative (as published in Marschalk's articles) were also a boon to the [[American Colonization Society|American Colonisation Society]], and ibn Sori would live out the rest of his days in [[Liberia]]. His narrative was adapted into a PBS film - ''[[Prince Among Slaves]]'' - in 2007. 
*[[Omar ibn Said]] - a [[Fulani]] [[ulema|Islamic scholar]] from [[Futa Toro]], notable for his [[taqiyah]] (secret practice of Islam). He publicly presented as a Christian for much of his life; but his manuscripts including his autobiography - ''The life of Omar ben Saeed, called Morro, a [[Fulani|Fullah]] Slave in Fayetteville, N.C. Owned by Governor Owen'' (which opens with [[Al-Mulk|Surah al-Mulk]], contains passages praising [[Muhammad]], and interprets [[Jesus]] in ways that align with Islam) - either allude or outright reveal that he had kept his Islamic faith in secret. As with the previous examples, his multilingual education and scholastic credentials were an important part of his life and narrative - while enslaved, he also wrote texts on history and theology, some of which was in service to Christian missionaries in Africa. 
*[[Yarrow Mamout]]

===Tales to inspire the abolitionist movement===
From the mid-1820s, writers consciously chose the autobiographical form to generate enthusiasms for the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] movement. Some writers adopted literary techniques, including the use of fictionalized dialogue. Between 1835 and 1865 more than 80 such narratives were published. Recurrent features include: slave auctions, the break-up of families, and frequently two accounts of escapes, one of which is successful. As this was the period of the forced migration of an estimated one million slaves from the [[Upper South]] to the [[Deep South]] through the internal [[Slavery in the United States#Slave trade|slave trade]], the experiences of auctions and separation of families were common to many.

Examples include:
* [[William Grimes (ex-slave)|William Grimes]], ''Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave'', New York, 1825
* [[Solomon Bayley]], ''A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America'', 1825 
* [[Mary Prince]], ''The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave'', London, 1831
* [[Charles Ball]], ''Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, A Black Man'', Lewistown, 1836
* [[Moses Roper]], ''A Narrative of Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper from American Slavery'', London, 1837
* [https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/runaway/menu.html "Recollections of Slavery by a Runaway Slave"], ''The Emancipator'', August 23, September 13, September 20, October 11, October 18, 1838<ref>Susanna Ashton, "Slaves of Charleston", ''The Forward'', September 19, 2014, pp. 13 and 16.</ref>
* [[Lunsford Lane]], ''The Narrative of Lunsford Lane, Formerly of Raleigh, N.C. Embracing an Account of His Early Life, the Redemption by Purchase of Himself and Family from Slavery, and His Banishment from the Place of His Birth for the Crime of Wearing a Colored Skin'', 1842
* [[Frederick Douglass]], ''[[Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave]]'', Boston, 1845
* [[Lewis Clarke|Lewis]] and Milton Clarke, ''Narratives of the Sufferings of Lewis and Milton Clarke, Sons of a Soldier of the Revolution, During a Captivity of More Than Twenty Years Among the Slaveholders of Kentucky, One of the So-Called Christian States of North America'', Boston, 1846
* [[William Wells Brown]], ''Narrative of William Wells Brown, A Fugitive Slave'', Boston, 1847
* [[Henry Box Brown]], ''Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown'', Boston, 1849
* [[Josiah Henson]], ''[[The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself]]'', Boston, 1849
* [[Henry Bibb]], ''Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave'', [[New York City|New York]], 1849
* [[James W. C. Pennington]], ''The Fugitive Blacksmith, or Events in the History of James W. C. Pennington'', London, 1849
* Henry Watson, ''[[Narrative of Henry Watson, A Fugitive Slave]]'', Boston, 1848.
* [[Solomon Northup]], ''[[Twelve Years a Slave]]'', Auburn, and [[Buffalo, New York]], and London, 1853
* [[John Brown (fugitive slave)|John Brown]], ''Slave Life in Georgia: A Narrative of the Life, Sufferings, and Escape of John Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Now in England'', 1855
* ''The Life of John Thompson, A Fugitive Slave'', [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], 1855
* [[John S. Jacobs|John Swanson Jacobs]], ''The United States Governed by Six Hundred Thousand Despots'', Sidney, Australia, 1855; University of Chicago Press, 2024.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/arts/john-jacobs-slavery-discovery.html?searchResultPosition=1 A Furious, Forgotten Slave Narrative Resurfaces After Nearly 170 Years]</ref> 
* Kate E. R. Pickard, ''The Kidnapped and the Ransomed, Being the Personal Recollections of Peter Still and his Wife "Vina", after Forty Years of Slavery'', New York, 1856
* [[Jermain Wesley Loguen]], ''The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman, a Narrative of Real Life'', 1859
* [[Ellen and William Craft]], ''Running a thousand Miles for Freedom, or the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery'', London, 1860
* [[Harriet Jacobs]], ''[[Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl]]'', Boston, 1861
* [[John Andrew Jackson]], ''The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina'', London, 1862
* [[Jacob D. Green]], ''Narrative of the Life of J. D. Green, a Runaway Slave from Kentucky'', [[Huddersfield]], 1864
* [[John M. Washington]], ''{{sic|Memorys}} of the Past'', 1873. Published in [[David W. Blight|Blight, David W.]], ''A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation''. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2007.
* [[Wallace Turnage]], the second man whose narrative of emancipation was published in Blight, David W., ''A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation''.

===Tales of progress===
[[File:SlaveNarrativeTheExperienceOfThomasHJones1871.jpg|thumb|right|Slave narrative of [[Thomas H. Jones]] published in 1871]]

Following the defeat of the slave states of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate South]], the authors had less need to convey the evils of slavery. Some gave a sentimental account of plantation life and ended with the narrator adjusting to the new life of freedom. The emphasis of writers shifted conceptually toward a recounting of individual and racial progress rather than securing [[Freedom (political)|freedom]].

Examples include:
* [[James Mars]], ''The Life of James Mars, A Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut'', [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], 1864
* [[Paul Jennings (slave)|Paul Jennings]], ''A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison'', 1865
* [[William Parker (abolitionist)|William Parker]], ''The Freedman's Story'', published in ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'', 1866
* [[Elizabeth Keckley]], ''Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House'', 1868 
* [[William Still]], ''[[The Underground Railroad (Still)|The Underground Railroad]]'', 1872, recounts the experiences of hundreds of slaves
* [[James Lindsay Smith]], ''Autobiography of James L. Smith'', 1881, published by the ''[[The Bulletin (Norwich)|Norwich Bulletin]]''
* [[Lucy Delaney]], ''[[From the Darkness Cometh the Light, or, Struggles for Freedom]]'', 1892 — this is unique as the only first-person account of a successful [[freedom suit]]
* [[Louis Hughes]], ''Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom'', [[Milwaukee]], 1897
* [[Booker T. Washington]], ''[[Up From Slavery]]'', [[Garden City, New York]], 1901
* [[Sam Aleckson]], ''Before the War, and After the Union: An Autobiography'', Boston, 1929

===WPA slave narratives===
{{Main|Slave Narrative Collection}}

During the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s, the [[New Deal]] [[Works Projects Administration]] (WPA) employed writers and researchers from the [[Federal Writers' Project]] to interview and document the stories of African Americans who were former slaves. Most had been children when the [[Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] was passed. Produced between 1936 and 1938, the narratives recount the experiences of more than 2,300 former slaves. Some interviews were recorded; 23 of 26 known audio recordings are held by the [[American Folklife Center]] of the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="fountain"/><ref>Library of Congress Project: WPA. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19446/19446-h/19446-h.htm ''Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume II, Arkansas Narratives, Part 3.''] Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1941. Retrieved December 31, 2010.</ref> The last interview of a former slave was with [[Fountain Hughes]], then 101, in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1949.<ref name="fountain">[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/110/ "Interview with Fountain Hughes, Baltimore, Maryland, June 11, 1949"], American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, World Digital Library. Retrieved May 26, 2013.</ref> He was a grandson of a slave owned by President [[Thomas Jefferson]] at [[Monticello]].

=== North American slave narratives as travel literature ===
Slave narratives inherently involved travel and form a significant type of [[Travel literature|travel writing]]. As John Cox says in ''Traveling South'', "travel was a necessary prelude to the publication of a narrative by a slave, for slavery could not be simultaneously experienced and written." Where many travel narratives are written by privileged travelers, slave narratives show people traveling despite significant [[Slave codes|legal barriers]] to their actions, and in this way are a distinct and essential element in how travel narratives formed the American character.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/11495|title=Traveling South: Travel Narratives and the Construction of American Identity|last=Cox|first=John D.|date=2005|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=9780820330860|pages=64–66|language=en}}</ref>