March 18, 2024

A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (Audio Book)

This remarkable story about an African prince from sold into slavery in New York. He describes some of his people’s religious customs which mimic that of the biblical Israelite customs. He describes how Yah carried him, even before he was certain there was a creator God. It is a glimpse into the life of our people before slavery.

This audiobook has three parts the total run time is 1:21:14. Succeeding parts will start automatically when the preceding part concludes. You may also click the fast forward button, which will take you to the next part. 

Source: https://archive.org/details/narrative_life_tg_librivox


The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (Audio Book)

This is another awesome story detailing Sojourner’s spiritual journey. Like most American slaves, Sojourner began her spiritual journey ignorant of the one true God, but He made sure she would not remain that way. Through a number of supernatural experiences, Sojourner came to know her God before she knew anything about scripture. Because of this, she maintained an understanding of the fallacy of generally accepted interpretations, yet it did not deter her from believing in the divine nature of scripture and letting her light shine wherever she went. Additionally, she talks, in detail, about her experience as a slave and a free woman of God. It is an awe-inspiring message about how God deals with us despite our oppression, ignorance, and fallacious ideas about who and what he is.

This audiobook contains 31 parts totaling 4:23:34 in runtime. Succeeding parts will start automatically when the preceding part concludes. You may also click the fast-forward button, which will take you to the next chapter.

Source: https://archive.org/details/narrative_sojourner_truth_1204_librivox


Federal Writers’ Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 1, Alabama, Aarons-Young

During the Great Depression, in 1936-1937, the US Government commissioned writers to collect slave narratives from formerly enslaved blacks across the South. The project was an effort by the federal government to support writers during tough financial times.

Interestingly, some states, such as Louisiana, never did release slave narratives to the federal government and therefore the Library of Congress still does not have those records. Fortunately, a few former slaves had been taken to neighboring states by their slavemasters when the civil war reached Louisiana and was able to give their accounts of slavery in Louisiana. As Ms. Delia Garlic put it “Dem days wuz hell.”

These stories really gave me an inside look at the experiences of our ancestors and how conditions have or haven’t changed. I’ll just say its enlightening!

All the recorded slave narratives from that period are available free of charge on the Library of Congress website.

Download Vol. 1 here 

Source: US Library of Congress

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