The interview I chose was with Uncle Bob Ledbetter and took place in Louisiana at an Oil City. This interview was published in 1940 with the main contributors being John Lomax and Ruby Lomax. 1 Throughout this interview, one can come to the conclusion that Uncle Bob was a down to earth, happy human being who did not let his past experiences get in the way of his new life. I was surprised at how Uncle Bob rarely mentioned a mortifying event in his life, with his only comments about his boss Mr. Noeller, was that he was “the meanest man on earth, but he never cussed at me”. Uncle Bob reminisced on how he was the oldest slave of the boys and never received any money. At a young age his father taught him how to read and write. From this interview, it can be noted that faith and devotion to church is what helped many slaves get through this difficult era. Uncle Bob joined church at the age of 19 and from then on, claimed he was devoted to always doing the right thing.
Uncle Bob’s interview reminded me of Chapter XII of The American Yawp where it states “The Negro was born in depression. It didn’t mean too much to him. The Great American Depression . . . only became official when it hit the white man.” 2 Black workers were generally the last hired when businesses expanded production and the first fired when businesses experienced downturns.” While analyzing my interview, this statement became reality because Uncle Bob was never paid and hardly mentioned times of eating because Mr. Noeller would not feed him. It can be estimated that Uncle Bob was 78 years old at the time this interview took place.
Although major events occurred during this time period, such as the construction of the panama canal and the stock market crash, these events subtly affected slaves. My overall perspective was that people of color have always been struggling, and in their struggles they found it in themselves to pickup the pieces and continue with the little they had and move forward. History is told and experienced in a different way for everyone. The way historians speak about history can be seen through the bigger picture, while smaller interviews help us see and determine how these events came about as well as how they molded Americans throughout the years.
