SLAVE NARRATIVES - Library of Congress

Family
"I am the mother of fifteen children—ten girls and five boys. That
was enough for me* I am willing to quit off* My husband is dead. He f s
been dead for thirty-five years *
Opinions
n I don't know what to say about these young people. Mine are pretty
good. So, I'm f fraid to say much about the others*
n Lord, I don't know what we'll do if we don't get some rain.
Vocational Experiences
"When I was able I washed and ironed* I didn't have to do nothin'
till after my father and husband died* Then I washed and ironed and cooked
till the white folks set me out* They said I was too old* That is one
thing I hates to think of* They had the privilege to say I couldn't work;
they ought to a seen that I got somethin' to live on when I wasn f t able to
work no more."
Interviewer f s Comment
You can't get the whole story by reading the words in this interview*
You have to hear the tones and the accents, and see the facial expressions
and bodily movements, and sense the sometimes almost occult influence; you
1 have to feel the utter lack of resentment that lies behind the words that
sound vehement when read. You marvel at the quick, smooth cover-up when
something is to be withheld, at the unexpected vigor of the mind when the bait
is attractive enough to draw it out, and at the sweetness of the disposition*
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