[Non-Sequitur]

For these older blacks, white people were white people for the most part. How would you know that this story wasn't going to get back to your employer, or the person you were renting your land from? The 1930's was not exactly the best time to lose your jobs, never mind other consequences that could befall someone who violated the social code of segregation by saying or doing the wrong thing.

The Slave Narratives should be taken at face value and accepted as an accurate description of life under slavery. There is no reason to believe that the narrators were telling the interviewers what they wanted to hear. Many narratives (there are over 3000) tell stories that indicate that for those particular people slavery wasn't that bad. The had kind masters, were treated decently, and weren't sold. There are also a great many narratives that show that slaves led a hard life of work and little else. There are many narratives that describe a brutal life. It's very much a mixed bag.

[4CJ]

Sometimes you absolutely amaze me. I would wholeheartedly agree with your analysis - they are indeed an accurate description of life under slavery. Yes, there were brutal and despicable masters, just as there were those that were kind and considerate.

Kudos to you sir.