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How did the WPA Federal Writers’ Project preserve the stories of formerly enslaved people?

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Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry — African American literature Frontispiece and title page of *Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral* (1773) by Phillis Wheatley, the first Black woman to become a poet of note in the United States. The portrait on which the frontispiece's engraving is based is often attributed to Scipio Moorhead, an Black artist and writer who, like Wheatley, was enslaved and living in Boston.

During the Great Depression, the WPA Federal Writers’ Project played a vital role in preserving the history of African Americans by documenting the oral testimonies of formerly enslaved people.12

To capture these accounts, the project dispatched writers and researchers across the country to interview elderly individuals who had lived through enslavement. By gathering these oral personal histories, the project ensured that the lived experiences, lore, and memories of these individuals were recorded before they were lost to time. Ultimately, the project collected testimonies from approximately 2,500 former slaves, which were compiled into 40 volumes of historical documentation.21

This initiative was part of the broader mission of the Works Progress Administration to chronicle the diverse history and culture of the American people during a period of significant economic hardship. These efforts provided an invaluable primary source record that continues to inform our understanding of the realities of slavery and the resilience of those who survived it.321