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Show HN: SlaveryStories.org – Memoirs from American Slaves
- rak 13y agoThis is a pretty cool project. I will check it out more when I get some time.
- therogerwilco 13y agoYa! Let's do more to eliminate racism, perhaps a website that shows how slavery affected us, so we can move past it and turn a new page. Oh wait...
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- badman_ting 13y agoEver notice how nobody talks about "moving on from the past" on July 4th?
- Crito 13y agoNot that I agree with GP, but to be fair I don't think most Americans could even tell you when the last time we were at war with the British was.
- badman_ting 13y agoPrecisely, in a way.
- Crito 13y agoWell, I guess what I am getting at is that there is no lingering animosity and oppression between the British and the US. British/Irish relations might be a better analogy. Telling a black American to get over it might be roughly comparable to telling an Irish person to get over the British. In that case there are true atrocities in the past and continued conflict and animosity continued into the modern era.
- gweinberg 13y agoLong before anyone alive today was born, that's for sure.
- rdl 13y agoIs this a trick question? I'd immediately assume War of 1812 (if you mean "at war against the British", vs. fighting as allies, which would be...today). There were stirrings during the US Civil War, but it didn't rise to combat.
- PavlovsCat 13y ago"The secret to reconciliation is remembrance!" -- plaque at the train station in Darmstadt, Germany ( http://i.imgur.com/D2mbGAe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/D2mbGAe.jpg )
- rayiner 13y agoThe premise of American civil suits is "moving past" the event that gave rise to the suit. Once a suit has been resolved, it is "res judicata" and cannot be re-litigated. However, intrinsic to that process is "make whole relief." A suit cannot be resolved without the defendant putting the plaintiff back in the position he would have been prior to the wrongdoing.
- smtddr 13y agoI did not understand your comment at all; but it is beautiful... I think. Also, I'm glad to see HN didn't let therogerwilco's comment ruin this article submission's comment section. It's been voted to the bottom of the page where it belongs, out of the way of productive conversation.
- mturmon 13y agoHere's an eloquent post from Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose excellent blog is partly devoted to exactly the question you asked: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/hitler-on-the-mississippi-banks/283127/ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/hit... And a second smart post about the relationship between remembering and moving on: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/to-europe-yes-but-together-with-our-dead/283358/ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/to-...
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- Xeoncross 13y agoWhy limit it to the (relatively) small collection of American stories? Why not open it up to slavery stories from the hundreds of thousands of people around the world?
- pessimizer 13y agoWhy should a site about American slavery cover something other than American slavery? Would you go onto a website about the New England Patriots and ask why there wasn't any coverage of the New York Giants, or onto a site about mountaintop removal mining asking why there wasn't more coverage about clearcutting? Do you go onto Kurdish sites and ask why they aren't covering the Armenian genocide? Why should the African-American experience be minimized so as to not be considered a distinct experience from other differing experiences that have been labeled as "slavery"? edit: This is not a rhetorical question.
- Xeoncross 13y agoThe domain is broad: "slaverystories" not "americanslaverystories". Hence my recommendation since american slavery is such a small part of the vast history of slavery.
- jfc 13y agoThis seems pedantic. There are plenty of reasons the site owner may have chosen the domain name. Not every discussion of a subject must be comprehensive--you noted in your comment that the history of slavery is vast. Why is this site owner expected to address all the different instances on his/her site? There are plenty of sites that discuss the broader history of slavery, or specific instances of it. This one fits in with the mosaic of other sites out there.
- pessimizer 13y ago>american slavery is such a small part of the vast history of slavery. This, of course, was the unspoken thought behind your suggestion. You just don't think that the subject is important. American chattel slavery is both unbelievably important and unique in the history of the world. To minimize its importance in the establishment and rise of the US, the history of Africa and Europe, or its importance in world culture is willful ignorance.
- badman_ting 13y ago"The Warmth of Other Suns" may also interest you: http://www.amazon.com/The-Warmth-Other-Suns-Migration/dp/1469233029 http://www.amazon.com/The-Warmth-Other-Suns-Migration/dp/146... (no affil link)
- kohanz 13y agoThe website looks nice. I'm curious, is there any editorial process for the contributions, to verify accuracy (understanding the full verification is impossible)?
- 6789678689688 13y agoThe audio is from the 1970's 1940's and 1930's. I don't know why, but I was somehow expecting the audio to be analog rips taken directly from 19th century wax cylinders.
- Asparagirl 13y agoThis is the best thing I've seen on HN in ages. And love that they're actively seeking submissions and additions through GitHub. And lovely design, too. Kudos all around!
- shriphani 13y agoI was recently reading this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A735906/ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A735906/ (title: When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection) It contains interviews with slaves that were part of a public-works program geared towards writers/musicians and other white-collar workers during the great depression. It was a particularly fascinating text since lots of the interviewees were in their 90s and thus had experienced both the pre- and post-emancipation eras. The most consistent message I saw was that a group of oppressed people who had not been allowed to acquire any of the skills one needs to survive had been set free and asked to fend for themselves in a very hostile environment (jim crow laws and so on) and thus for most of that generation, it was like trading one problem for another. Also, there are several statistics compiled where the african-american community features as an outlier. For instance, breast-feeding rates in that community are far lower than the rest of the US [1]. I didn't know that this was a result of what women in the slavery-era went through but learned that from the book. It is important to read literature from this era. Tells us a lot about how just over a century ago, people employed rhetoric to convince themselves that slavery was really ok (see the talking points of the "overseers" and "speculators"). [1] http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/43/3/1.3.full http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/43/3/1....
- rayiner 13y agoI don't know if any slavery-related impact would survive the dramatic change in breastfeeding rates in the U.S. over the 20th century. The chart of breastfeeding rates, for any race, looks like this: http://www.skepticalob.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/breastfeeding-initiation-1910-2000.jpg http://www.skepticalob.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/breast.... At about 60%, the breastfeeding rate among blacks in the U.S. is about what the national average was in 1995, and far above the 20-30% national average from 1945-1975.
- yungether 13y agoHow can we disrupt slavery?
- gabemart 13y agoA minor bug: words in italic do not have a space before and after them, as they should do. For example: http://www.slaverystories.org/harriet-jacobs/1 http://www.slaverystories.org/harriet-jacobs/1 This is a great project.
- brudgers 13y agoCoursera course History of the Slave [US] South is in session now for people interested in the subject. https://www.coursera.org/course/slavesouth https://www.coursera.org/course/slavesouth
- jfc 13y agoReally like the site. I've been reading the narratives of enslaved people lately, starting with 12 Years a Slave, then Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and started reading Frederick Douglass' narratives. Harrowing reads. For anyone reading these narratives: it's easy to get caught up in the dynamic of blacks and whites, racism, and the like, but the core issue of American slavery is the depravity of humanity. Focusing on the guilt/non-guilt/whatever of various ethnic groups quite misses the point. Evils of this type exist across humanity; these enslavement narratives show us the particular context of how this depravity played out in America. They also provides us with some insight into contemporary issues in our society. The tentacles of a 400+ year institution like slavery, and their corroding influence, continue to wrap themselves around hearts and minds open to their venom. The narratives are very worthwhile reading. Sidenote: I think the site title might be better termed as Memoirs from American Enslaved People. For so long these people were not acknowledged as human beings, and it seems appropriate to acknowledge the dignity of their humanity.
- Crake 13y agoI absolutely adore what I've read of Frederick Douglass. I plan to ransack the local library system for more of his writings at some point.
- lmg643 13y agoWhen I saw "slavery stories" - I did a double take - I thought someone was putting up a website to talk about modern day slavery stories. CNN has a good site up on this subject - estimated 20-30 million people work in forced labor around the world today. http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts/ http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts... The fact that slavery persists to this day, despite the known history and aftereffects, is an important subject that needs more awareness.
- TempleOSV2 13y agoGod is perfectly just. God says... sicknesses subtile derides clasp Tell face_palm master who persuasions Switzerland accept loveth over-anxiously Domain Testament obtain replacing exquisitely opposing faileth revelations believeth heights modesty Donations* passions cleanse
- 51Cards 13y agoI just fell in love with Fountain Hughes. Great site. http://www.slaverystories.org/fountain-hughes/ http://www.slaverystories.org/fountain-hughes/
- robertwalsh0 13y agoYeah, the first time I listened to that one – especially the way he opens with his name - I totally teared up.
- 1dundundun 13y agoHis thoughts were really clear for a 100+ yr old man who had been through so much.
- mikecane 13y agoAnyone interested in books published by former slaves, go search Google Books. 12 Years A Slave is there among others.
- kingmanaz 13y agoAt what point does remembrance become defamation?
- aw3c2 13y agoWith Javascript disabled (which is how safety-minded folk browse) your site displays nothing but the background color (I guess). Add some <noscript>!
- iamnicklewis 13y agoOne of the developers here. Great suggestion, will do!
- xenophonf 13y agoIf you need any encouragement, I was going to make a similar comment. I'd love to browse your web site based solely on the content of your contents, as it were.
- 1dundundun 13y agoThe site is well done and I look forward to checking it out. It does irritate me a bit when all of these slave stories always come out during black history month as if black peoples entire history consists of slavery and then the civil rights struggle. There are black poets, artists, inventors, scientists and intellectuals that nobody really knows about. It would be cool to put some focus on that aspect or at least let it match the amount of effort put into sharing the chilling truths of slavery in America...
- jfc 13y agoTotally agree. One of my favorite examples of an unknown, important person who should be celebrated is Eunice Carter - http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1963424_1963480_1963450,00.html http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,288...
- chaostheory 13y agoMy thoughts on the site: 1) It would be nice to have pictures, illustrations, and maps to give better context to the stories. It would make them more alive. Something like this would be nice: http://apps.npr.org/wolves/ http://apps.npr.org/wolves/ There's a nicer example on some railway in Russia but I can't seem to find it. 2) As someone else has already mentioned, it would be great to include modern slavery stories. Sadly, there are a lot more slaves today compared to before Emancipation was passed. People need to know about that.
- iamnicklewis 13y agoQuick reply: 1) I agree! We'd love to have more rich media within each narrative. One of the reasons we've made the project open-source is to encourage people to contribute additional narratives, including those with additional images and illustrations. Check it out on Github and feel free to contribute! 2) We wanted to focus on historical narratives from American slaves, but certainly acknowledge there's definitely more amazing stories to tell. Hopefully this site can service as inspiration for more sites on the subject and we'll get some interesting contributions.
- chaostheory 13y ago> We wanted to focus on historical narratives from American slaves Sadly, there are still slaves in America today as a result of human trafficking. Slavery in the US hasn't ended.
- epx 13y agoSalt the earth of southern USA
- Theodores 13y agoThere is only one monument built to commemorate the end of the slave trade (through the British Empire). As it happens this monument just so happens to be at the entrance to the school I attended. Consequently we learned more about the slave business than most. Our education was a bit more nuanced and not entirely pious. It is easy to focus on what terrible times slaves had - 'wasn't it terrible' - but the more interesting stories and the bigger picture are elsewhere. For starters, it was not the slaves that freed themselves (Haiti being an exception), the campaign was a Quaker thing, an understanding that God would not have thought it right. Beyond that there was also the economic picture, indentured labour from Bengal (India) was more cost effective. At least slaves could see their chains. They had to be fed and watered, it wasn't as if they had to find the essentials for staying alive out of a paycheck. Those doing the same toil as indentured labour were living that bit more precariously. What I find most interesting about the slave trade and slavery is how analogous it is to the arms trade. In the days of slavery members of parliament would own plantations, councillors would have shares in slave-trade related concerns and every aspect of power was corrupted by some link. If you were against slavery it was hard to clothe and feed yourself without buying slavery products. Think of today and if you wanted to avoid things made in China for some ideological reason - near impossible. So anyway, today's arms trade where all politicians seem to take some back-hander from it is so like the slave trade/slavery in how it corrupts. Equally, nobody thinks or cares about banking with a bank that services the arms companies, or buying something as small as a paperclip from a company that gladly sells to the Pentagon. It was the same in the slavery days. Nobody cared except for some Quakers. That is not entirely true, a lot of factory operatives in places like Manchester realised their struggle for fair pay for fair work was tied into the slavery thing. I particularly like stories that challenge the narrative. In the UK during the post war years a lot of people from the Caribbean were invited over to blighty to be cleaners, bus drivers etc. That is what we like to think. However, some did make it over here to be judges, teachers and other professions. These contradictions and the nuances to the story are what make it interesting for me, and, personally, I think that our history regarding slavery deserves to be more thought provoking than the testimonies provided on the slaverystories.org website.
- jfc 13y agoI think the stories on slaverystories.org are very thought provoking, and your comment leads me to question whether you have read or listened to many of them. For instance, you are incorrect that no slaves freed themselves--here's an example of a woman who sued for her freedom under the Massachusetts Constitution and won (lawsuits from other enslaved people followed--some won) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Freeman_(slave) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Freeman_(slave) There are plenty of other stories such as this, along with numerous accounts of escaped enslaved people, many of whom were not helped by the Quakers, but by other, unexpected groups. The tone of your comment is also at turns appallingly dismissive--you write of enslaved people as being "fed and watered" and indicate that they were cared for. But numerous narratives make clear that slaves were often not fed and clothed sufficiently, not to mention that their health and hygiene was neglected. The idea that they were provided for adequately is a foolish and unwarranted assumption. They were treated, often times, worse than animals. Not to mention the routine sexual assaults that women and men endured--that's in some of the narratives as well. And not merely an assault only from the slave owner, but from his siblings, sons, overseers who worked for him, and the like. A particularly noteworthy account observed that slave owners would interrupt the meals of enslaved families and require the daughters or wives to leave with them to be sexually assaulted and then return the women after they were finished. These would be severe horrors to anyone who had to endure them and can't be ignored because someone doesn't like to hear about them--or thinks something else is more interesting. These enslaved people were human beings. There is no reason to minimize the suffering portion of the narrative, especially since they lived with those horrors daily and accounted for a significant part of their experiences while enslaved. Again, if you've read some of these narratives, you would know that there are lengthy discussions of their lives after becoming free--everything isn't about their suffering. There are certainly other perspectives from which we can look at American slavery. The corrupting influence was (and remains) staggering. Of course people like stories that challenge the narrative of the sufferings of African enslaved people. It is more pleasant not to discuss or even acknowledge the horrors that existed, for a variety of reasons. But these things did happen, and sites like slaverystories.org do a good job of illuminating not only the horrors that existed, but also the variegations of life and humanity.
- bzelip 13y agoThis is a great site. It correctly addresses the often-dense web spaces that make available many of the narratives. Good to see the modern web approach. And the instructional stuff on github is worthwhile. I've shared it with the major African American Studies listserv, H-Afro-Am (http://www.h-net.org/~afro-am/ http://www.h-net.org/~afro-am/)
- girvo 13y agoWow, this is an awesome site, especially for someone who's not from the US. I've read literature that is about US slavery, and a few stories about particular slaves that got (or took) their freedom so I find it fascinating to read about. Really nicely designed too :)
- nicolsc 13y agoGreat idea, and nicely executed :) Feature request : would be great to have a /all to get the whole story at once, instead of chapter by chapter. Would allow to export to Kindle or Pocket in 2 secs.
- therogerwilco 13y agoThe fact remains, how can we as American people move on, when all some are trying to do is concentrate on the past? Should we not concentrate on the future, and pay attention to the rest of the world and the active slavery that still persists today? I think Americans are spoiled. I also think that what we say, is comparable to a poop sandwich because everyone wants attention on their own problems instead of living their life and bettering the progress of the world.