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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Excerpt from Fannie Dorum slave narrative

Fannie Dorum was born into slavery in Franlin, North Carolina. In this brief excerpt, she describes the work she did as a slave.

From Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. Arkansas Narratives, Volume II, Part 2

Original source available from Library of Congress.

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  • Lesson plan: Slavery across North Carolina In this lesson for grade 8, students read excerpts from slave narratives to gain an understanding of how slavery developed in each region of North Carolina, and how regional differences created a variety of slave experiences.

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  • Excerpt from Thomas Johnson slave narrative: Thomas Johnson was born as a slave in Virginia. After slavery was ended in 1865, he became a minister and traveled to Africa and England to convert others to Christianity. In this excerpt he describes the risk that slaves had to take to meet in prayer groups and sing hymns and spirituals. Johnson mentions the Jubilee Singers, a group of black musicians who performed spirituals in concerts around America and Europe after the Civil War.
  • Excerpts from James Curry slave narrative : James Curry was born into slavery around 1815 in Person County, North Carolina. In these excerpts from his memoir, he descrbies his mother's experiences as a slave and reflects on the differences between slave labor and paid labor.
  • Excerpt from Lunsford Lane slave narrative: Lunsford Lane was born into slavery in Raleigh in 1803. He began earning money when he was very young -- selling fruit, tobacco, and pipes, and cutting wood -- and eventually made enough money to arrange for his freedom and a new life in the North. In this excerpt from his memoir, Lane describes his early money-making ventures.

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A slave better pick a hundred pounds of cotton in a day. You better pick a hundred. I couldn’t pick a hundred. I never was much on picking cotton.

I weeded corn, planted corn and cotton, cut up wheat, pulled fodder, and did all such work. I plowed before the War about two years ago. I used to have to take the horses and go hide when the soldiers would go through. I was about nineteen years old when Lee surrendered. That would make me somewheres about ninety-four years old. The boys figgered it all out when they had the old age contest ‘round here. They added up the times I worked and put everything together.