https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1975023_afs17510/
In this interview between Elmer Sparks and interviewee Charlie Smith, Charlie recounts his life as both a slave and a freedman, with stories from Africa to out West. Charlie’s story is an abnormality compared to other freed slave interviews, as he doesn’t feel that he had the same experience. He was purchased and renamed by Charles Smith in New Orleans and states that Charles treated him with kindness and raised him with his own children, without prejudice. His story is also unique in that he lived most of his life out West, and describes himself as the “first black cowboy.” Because of this, he was not subject to the same experiences as other enslaved people of the time.
The two timelines created intersected in major moments of Charlie Smith’s life, as he experienced them first hand. He vividly remembers the start of the Civil War, and how war reached him even out West. The Emancipation Proclamation was another event of note that changed the course of his life. Even though he never truly felt like an enslaved man, following being granted his freedom he moved to Mississippi and started a new chapter of his life. He started working for the government, and following the shooting of popular president Garfield, he describes being called upon as a hired hand to find the shooter, something he remains very proud of and remembers vividly. Perhaps the most shocking event he remembers, however, is watching Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn as he was working as a cowboy nearby. The intersection of personal experience and historical event is the starkest here, as he describes this event simply, without the same emphasis it’s usually given.
I was surprised at how clearly and chronologically Charlie Smith was able to recount events, especially considering that he is one of the oldest people alive, even being included in the 1980 Guinness World Record book. He was able to recount names, dates, and experiences with minimal prompting, and was aware of large historical and cultural events occurring at the same time. This interview is useful in how comprehensive it is, as events in Charlie Smith’s life extend a hundred years or more, with a unique perspective on them. However, the downfall to having such an elderly individual recount these experiences is that details and memories alter as we age, leading to some doubt about the credibility of some statements. Oral history is something that can be incredibly important and offer a different side of history but also can be inaccurate and misleading, as the human experience is not always historically accurate.
I appreciated the tone and questions of the interviewer, Elmer Sparks, as he asked comprehensive questions and seemed to want a genuine response. He helped keep Charlie Smith on task with gentle prompting, although Charlie was remarkably clear and comprehensive for his age. I have some hearing loss, which makes picking out muffled sounds and inaudible sounds very difficult, so looking through a transcription of the audio recording would be enlightening and lead to greater comprehension of the tape. This interview didn’t go into great depth concerning the social climate of the 1930s, or of any time period for that matter. Charlie Smith’s only remark regarding the social climate of the time was how different his experience was compared to the average experience of an enslaved or freed person. He never felt truly enslaved, and so didn’t experience the Emancipation Proclamation in the same way.
