Slave Narratives Examined
OSU Library grant programming explores Federal Writers' Project's legacy
April 21, 2009
Story by Danny Groshong, OSU Library Communications Intern
For Immediate Release
STILLWATER -Throughout the 1930s the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) built an oral history collection of more than 2,300 first-hand accounts of slavery in the United States. These interviews tell our nation's story through the voices of those who lived it.
On April 24, "Soul of a People: The Slave Narratives of the Federal Writers' Project" will examine the impact and legacy of the FWP slave narratives. The event is in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room in the Edmon Low Library at 7 p.m.
The program features an introduction by Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, interim associate vice president for institutional diversity at OSU, a discussion of the historical context and selected slave narratives by Dr. Andrew Rosa, assistant professor of history at OSU, and a demonstration of the Born in Slavery website by Dr. Lynne Simpson, assistant professor at the OSU Library, and Bettye Black, director of the Langston University Library.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information on this and other events at the OSU Library, call 405-744-7331 or email lib-pub@okstate.edu.
This spring, the OSU Library presents a series of programs which examine the WPA, the Federal Writers’ Project and Depression-era Oklahoma. The series, based on the upcoming documentary Soul of A People: Writing America’s Story, is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities secured by OSU Librarians, David Oberhelman and Barbara Miller.
Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story is a major documentary television program about the Federal Writers’ Project produced by Spark Media, Washington, D.C., and broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel HD (www.Smithsonianchannel.com). Soul of a People programs in libraries are sponsored by the American Library Association Public Programs Office with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for a new world. Oklahoma's only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its five-campus system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus; with students from all 50 states and about 110 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world. CREATE - INNOVATE - EDUCATE - GO STATE!
URL: http://www.library.okstate.edu/news/spring09/soul3.htm
Last Updated: 21 April 2009
