From 1936 to 1939, the New Deal\'s Federal Writers\' Project collected life stories from more than 2,300 former African American slaves.
Stewart shows it was the product of competing visions of the past, as ex-slaves\' memories of bondage, emancipation, and life as freedpeople were used to.
But in this examination of the Project and its legacy, Catherine A.
These narratives are now widely used as a source to understand the lived experience of those who made the transition from slavery to freedom.
From 1936 to 1939, the New Deal\'s Federal Writers\' Project collected life stories from more than 2,300 former African American slaves