I listened to “Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas, 1941,” which was a four part interview. One of the things we can learn about the experience of enslaved people from this interview is that church was a very big component in a lot of their lives. Harriet Smith talks about her relationship to the church and how it played a significant role in her life, from childhood to adulthood.
The two timeline layers intersect because Harriet Smith’s personal history is impacted by the larger, political history. Her personal history includes her experience as an enslaved woman, her spirituality, and her relationships. These micro aspects of her life were impacted by the large political and national events, such as secession, the issuing of the emancipation proclamation, and FDR’s presidency. This experience with the timeline has taught me that categorizing the significant events of someone’s life is a challenging job because it’s difficult to know how much importance micro-events held in someone’s life when they are not there to tell you. But more importantly it requires a deep-level of analysis in order for the historian not to erase micro-histories. These autobiographical accounts stand “as one of the most enduring and noteworthy achievements of the WPA” and if done properly, the transcription of these oral accounts can help the proliferation of knowledge about slavery in the United States 1
I’m surprised the interviewee didn’t mention more detail about her children. She spent a significant portion talking about her past husbands, but never her children2. Regardless, this interview could be really useful for people studying the experiences of enslaved women in America. The limitations of the interview include the poor sound quality and the lack of scope in regard to the questions being asked.
By listening to the voices of the interviewer and interviewee I learned that what I, as the listener, would take away from the interview is going to be different than anyone else. Each listener has their own experience due to their background and experience with this process. It was hard to understand what was being said at times, but I feel as though if someone had practice it would be much easier. That being said, transcribing sources is very helpful to people who aren’t familiar to interviews such as these, but to transcribe the sources in the first place should require a bit of experience in order to get accuracy. But it’s important to note that someone transcribing these interviews should be aware of the possible reproduction of racial stereotypes and biases3
- An Introduction to the WPA Slave Narratives, https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/articles-and-essays/introduction-to-the-wpa-slave-narratives/
- Faulk, John Henry, and Harriet Smith. Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas,part 1 of 4. Hempstead, Texas, 1941. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941016_afs05499a/.
- A Note on the Language of the Narratives, https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/articles-and-essays/note-on-the-language-of-the-narratives/#note
