A frican-A m erican H istory
a n d th e Oral T ra d itio n
DARWIN T. TURNER
This article offers the text of remarks given by Professor Turner on March 3,
1990, at a presentation on oral history to a gathering in Shambaugh
Auditorium that was held in conjunction with an exhibition entitled "The
African-American Experience at The University of Iowa." This University of
Iowa Libraries' exhibition was on display from January 29 to mid-March 1990
in the North Lobby of the Main Library. —Editor
T
h e s p e a k e rs th is e v e n in g h a v e c o n ­
trib u te d to a lo n g tra d itio n in w o rld c u ltu r e —th a t of oral
litera tu re a n d oral h isto ry . A lth o u g h th e tra d itio n is n o t u n iq u e
to A fricans, it is w e ll-e sta b lish e d as a p a rt of Black c u ltu re.
Som e of y o u m ay h a v e h e a rd or re a d A lex H a le y 's n o n -fic tio n
account of th e m a n n e r in w h ic h h e d isc o v e re d h is a n c estry .
A fter h e h a d e x h a u ste d w ritte n re c o rd s —th o se of sales of
slaves, p ro p e rty listin g s, a n d s h ip s ' rec o rd s, h e h a d tra c ed h is
an cestry to A frica. B ut h e n e v e r w o u ld h a v e co n firm e d h is
exact origin if h e h a d n o t b e e n h e lp e d b y a n A frican w h o co u ld
recite th e h isto ry of th e village u n til it re a c h e d g e n e ra tio n s in to
th e p a st, back to th e m o m e n t a t w h ic h H a le y 's a n c e sto r w a s
n a m e d as p a rt of th a t h isto ry . T he w ritte n re c o rd s of civilization
h a d g u id e d H aley o n ly to th e d im p a st. It w a s oral h isto ry th a t
illu m in ated th a t past.
A s I said, I do n o t w is h to give th e im p re ss io n th a t th e oral
tra d itio n is u n iq u e to A fricans or th a t it is th e o n ly tra d itio n of
A frican culture. P re-literate or n o n -lite ra te p e o p le s th ro u g h o u t
th e w o rld h av e d e p e n d e d u p o n th e oral tra d itio n to tra n s m it
th eir cu ltu re from o n e g e n e ra tio n to a n o th e r. Som e sch o lars,
for exam ple, arg u e th a t th e g re a t epic p o e m The Iliad—p ro b ab ly
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c o m p o se d d u rin g th e te n th c e n tu ry B .C ., w h e n G reeks w ere
n o t u s in g w ritin g for litera ry p u r p o s e s —th a t The Iliad p ro b ab ly
h a d b e e n rec ite d for y e a rs b efo re it w a s w ritte n d o w n ; a n d
so m e of y o u w h o h a v e m a d e th e c o m p a riso n m ay h a v e n o te d
h o w The Bible's rec ita tio n of " w h o b e g a t w h o m " resem b les the
lita n y th ro u g h w h ic h K u n ta K inte e v o k e d h is an cestry . O n the
o th e r side, h o w e v e r, w e m u s t n o t fo rg et th a t A fricans co n trib ­
u te d to th e w ritte n lite ra tu re th a t w a s s tu d ie d a t th e g reat
U n iv e rsity of T im b u k tu a n d th a t w a s d o u b tle ss h o u s e d in th e
lib rary of A le x a n d ria, b u r n e d in th e first c e n tu ry B.C. by th e
in v a d in g forces of Ju liu s C aesar.
D e sp ite A frican c o n trib u tio n s to th e w ritte n tra d itio n , h o w ­
e v er, it w a s th e oral tra d itio n th a t A fricans b ro u g h t to A m erica
in slave sh ip s d u rin g th e s e v e n te e n th , e ig h te e n th , a n d n in e ­
te e n th c e n tu rie s as th e y e n d u re d w h a t p o e t R o b ert H a y d e n has
d e sc rib e d as
V oyage th ro u g h d e a th
To life u p o n th e s e sh o res.
("M id d le P assag e")
T he re a so n s for th e ir d e p e n d e n c e u p o n th e oral tra d itio n are
o b v io u s. M o st slav es c o u ld n e ith e r re a d n o r w rite; a n d m an y
w h ite A m e ric an s, actin g a c co rd in g to law a n d c u sto m , p re ­
v e n te d th e slaves fro m le a rn in g to re a d o r w rite. E ven if th ey
h a d b e e n able to w rite , p e n s a n d in k a n d p a p e r w o u ld h av e
b e e n lu x u rie s th a t few c o u ld afford. Finally, e v e n if th e y h a d
h a d b o th th e tra in in g a n d th e tools, few slaves w o u ld h av e
b e e n so u n w is e as to rec o rd th e ir actu al th o u g h ts a b o u t th eir
h isto ry a n d a b o u t slav ery in a n y fo rm th a t co u ld b e disco v ered
b y th e ir m a ste rs.
Since th e m id d le a n d late n in e te e n th c e n tu ry , reco g n itio n
h a s b e e n g iv en to tw o m a n ife sta tio n s of th e oral tra d itio n in
A frican -A m erican c u ltu re —th e folk tales a n d th e folk songs,
in c lu d in g , of co u rse , th e sp iritu a ls. U ntil recen tly , h o w e v e r,
too little a tte n tio n w a s p a id to oral h isto ry . Som e of it existed in
th e pre-C ivil W ar slave n a rra tiv e s —a u to b io g ra p h ie s w ritte n or
to ld b y fo rm e r slaves, p a rtic u la rly d u rin g th e se co n d q u a rte r of
th e n in e te e n th c e n tu ry w h e n th e A bo litio n ist M o v em en t
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su rg e d u p w a rd . A lth o u g h so m e fo rm e r slaves, su c h as F re d ­
erick D ou g lass a n d W illiam W ells B row n, c o u ld w rite th e ir o w n
stories of th e ir lives, o th e rs to ld th e ir h o rrify in g tales to
abolitionist a u d ie n c e s o r to in d iv id u a l a b o litio n ists, w h o p u b ­
lish ed th em . In a se n se , h o w e v e r, th e s e n a rra tiv e s m u s t be
id en tified as th e h isto rie s of e x tra o rd in a ry in d iv id u a ls. T h a t is,
an y slave w h o p o s s e s s e d th e in tellig en ce, th e c o u ra g e , a n d th e
d e te rm in a tio n to escap e w a s h eroic, e x tra o rd in a ry .
T he first m ajo r effort to collect th e h isto rie s of w h a t L a n g sto n
H u g h e s w o u ld h a v e called " th e n o t-so -c o m m o n c o m m o n "
A frican-A m erican cam e as late as th e 1930s, w h e n th e W orks
P ro g ress A d m in istra tio n (th e W PA ), se e k in g to p ro v id e jo b s for
out-o f-w o rk sch o lars a n d s tu d e n ts , s e n t th e m in to th e S o u th e rn
states to collect sto ries fro m fo rm e r slaves. T he m e th o d of
collection w a s p ro b ab ly sexist. T h at is, th e A frican -A m erican s'
a n sw e rs su g g e st th a t th e w o m e n w e re g e n e ra lly a sk e d a b o u t
su ch do m estic m a tte rs as clo th es, fo o d , a n d m ed icin e w h e re a s
th e m e n w e re a sk e d a b o u t jobs a n d a d v e n tu re s . N e v e rth e le ss,
th e h isto rie s w e re collected. T h e n th e y g a th e re d d u s t in a r­
chives for m o re th a n th re e d e c a d e s u n til h isto ria n N o rm a n
Y etm an p u b lis h e d so m e in a b o o k e n title d Voices from Slavery
(1970).
Several re a so n s c a u se d sch o lars a n d o th e rs to n e g le c t th e oral
histo ries e v e n a fter th e y b ecam e available. F irst, m o st sc h o la r­
sh ip in h is to ry —o r e v e n in lite ra tu re —h a s tru s te d w ritte n
record o r th e th ird -p e rs o n w ritte n a c c o u n t as ev id e n c e of
objectivity, tru th , a n d p e rm a n e n c e . W e so m e tim e s d is tru s t
first-p erso n acco u n ts b e c au se w e k n o w h o w in d iv id u a ls rete ll­
ing th eir lives m ay be m o tiv a te d su b jectiv ely to s tra y fro m th e
tru th e ith e r con scio u sly or u n c o n scio u sly . U nlike v id e o ta p e
cam eras, w e h u m a n b e in g s d o n o t m ere ly re c o rd o u r lives; w e
in te rp re t th em . In d e e d , e v id e n c e d o e s su g g e st th a t so m e
form er slaves e m b e llish ed th e tru th for th e W PA c o lle cto rs—
m o st o ften for th e w h ite m e n , less o fte n for w h ite w o m e n , least
o ften for o th e r A frican-A m ericans. O n e fo rm e r slave, for
exam ple, to ld th e collector th a t h e h a d o n ce w o rk e d for a g ro u p
of m e n u n til h e d isc o v e red th a t th e y w e re cattle ru stle rs. A fter
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h e e sc a p e d fro m th e m , h e to o k a b e tte r job w o rk in g o n a farm
for a v e ry nice m a n —a m a n n a m e d Jesse Jam es. (For lovers of
W e ste rn s, I n e e d n o t p o in t o u t th a t, d u rin g th e peaceful
in te rlu d e s w h e n h e w a s n o t ro b b in g b a n k s or tra in s, Jesse
Jam es u s e d th e s u rn a m e " H o w a rd ," n o t " Ja m e s.") D espite
su c h e m b e llish m e n ts, h o w e v e r, a u th e n tic ity in th e stories can
be d isc o v e red fro m th e re se m b la n c es of o n e n a rra tiv e to
a n o th e r in th e d e sc rip tio n of clo th es, m a n n e r of tre a tm e n t,
living c o n d itio n s, etc. A u th e n tic ity can be d isc o v e red also in
th e occasional th a t u n m ista k a b ly rin g s w ith t r u t h —tru th such
as th e c o m p la in t b y a fo rm e r slave a n d fo rm er so ld ier th at,
w h e n h is Black tro o p s fo u g h t for th e U .S. A rm y a g a in st In d ia n s
in th e late n in e te e n th c e n tu ry , th e In d ia n s w e re a rm e d w ith
re p e a tin g rifles a n d W in c h e ste rs s u p p lie d b y th e F ed eral G ov­
e rn m e n t, w h e re a s th e Black so ld iers fo u g h t w ith fro n t-lo ad in g
m u sk e ts (th e k in d th a t y o u see in m o tio n p ic tu re s a b o u t th e
A m erican R evolution).
A se c o n d re a s o n th a t oral h isto ry of B lacks—or w h ites for
th a t m a tte r —h a s a s s u m e d slig h t im p o rta n c e is th e belief th a t
in d iv id u a l m e m o rie s h a v e sc an t v alu e. Som e scholars h av e
ju d g e d oral h isto ry ju s t as d isd a in fu lly as, acco rd in g to Z ora
N eale H u rs to n , th e Black c o m m u n ity in F lorida ju d g e d folk­
tales. In M ules and M en (1935), sh e re p o rte d th a t, w h e n she
trie d to collect folktales, A frican-A m ericans a sk e d h e r w h y an
e d u c a te d w o m a n w o u ld w a n t to listen to su c h foolishness.
Finally, a n d th is m ay b e w o rs t of all, oral h isto ry h a s b een
d ism isse d b y a y o u n g e r g e n e ra tio n of A frican-A m ericans w h o
h a v e n o t w a n te d to liste n to th e e ld e rs ' te d io u s m em o ries of the
p a st. W ith re g re t, I re m e m b e r h o w m y b ro th e r a n d I listen ed
o n ly p o litely w h e n o u r g ra n d m o th e r trie d to tell u s a b o u t h e r
fath e r, w h o b ecam e a b a n k m e s s e n g e r d e sp ite th e W illiam
H o w a rd Taft fam ily, o r a b o u t h e r g ra n d fa th e r, w h o w as fo u r
y e a rs o ld w h e n G eo rg e W a sh in g to n d ied . (N ote th e tec h n iq u e
of th e oral tra d itio n in th a t sta te m e n t: E ven th o u g h sh e w as an
e d u c a te d w o m a n , a school p rin c ip al, w h o h a d en cy clo p ed ias in
h e r h o m e , sh e n e v e r d a te d th e y e a r of h e r g ra n d fa th e r's b irth
o r th a t of W a sh in g to n 's d e a th ; oral h isto ry tra d itio n m ea su res
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tim e n o t acco rd in g to d a te s b u t a c co rd in g to m em o rab le
ev en ts.) Foolishly m y b ro th e r a n d I d e c id e d in d iv id u a lly th a t
w e d id n o t care a b o u t th e fam ily 's p a st; w e w e re in te re s te d o n ly
in th e p re s e n t a n d in th e fu tu re th a t w e c o u ld create. E ven
th o u g h I still believe th a t in d iv id u a ls m u s t n o t p o lish th eir
re p u ta tio n s o n th e p a s t, I h a v e o fte n w is h e d th a t m y g ra n d ­
m o th e r h a d lived u n til I b ecam e sufficiently w ise to liste n to h e r
a n d to take n o tes.
Scholars h a v e b e g u n to listen w ith in th e p a s t tw e n ty y e a rs.
Such h isto ria n s as G eo rg e R aw ick, in From Sundown to Sunup
(1972), a n d Jo h n B lassingam e, in The Slave C om m unity (1972),
h av e b a se d th eir h isto rie s u p o n oral ac co u n ts b y fo rm e r slaves.
This practice re p re s e n ts a n im p o rta n t c h a n g e in A m erican
sch o larsh ip . P rev io u sly m o st of th e h isto rie s of A m erican
slavery relied u p o n th e w ritte n rec o rd s b y w h ite s —o fte n th e
m aste rs or th e ir v isitors, w h o se fre q u e n tly b ia se d a c co u n ts
w e re a c ce p ted as tru th m ere ly b e c au se th e y ex isted in w ritte n
form . N o w su ch p ro -slav e ry h isto ria n s h a v e b e e n b a la n c e d b y
h isto ries w ritte n fro m th e p e rsp e c tiv e s of th e slaves.
O ral h isto ry is im p o rta n t for still a n o th e r re a so n . R ecalling
m em o rab le e v e n ts th a t w ill n e v e r be in sc rib e d in h isto ry b o o k s,
it re m in d s u s th a t h isto ry is th e sto ry of th e lives of h u m a n
b e in g s —n o t m erely th e rec o rd of g re a t b a ttle s, c h a n g e s of
au th o rity , a n d m o m e n to u s discoveries. T his is n o b e tte r evi­
d e n c ed th a n in E rn e st G a in e s' n o v e l, The Autobiography of M iss
Jane Pittman (1971). H a v in g lived m o re th a n o n e h u n d r e d y e a rs,
M iss Jane, a fo rm er slave, d o e s n o t re c o u n t th e h isto ry w ritte n
in th e books; p e rh a p s sh e n e v e r k n e w it. T he facts th a t sh e
rem em b ers of th e tw e n tie th c e n tu ry are th ese: Boys w h o m sh e
k n e w w e n t a w ay to fig h t in so m e w a r so m e w h ere ; G o v e rn o r
H u e y L ong h e lp e d L o u isian a N e g ro e s m o re th a n p e o p le said;
a n d Jackie R o b in so n e n te re d b aseb all a n d m a d e th e B rooklyn
D odgers w in th eir g am es. A bove all, sh e re m e m b e re d th e
liv e s—a n d d e a th s —of th o se w h o m sh e lo v ed . P e rh a p s th is is
th e tru ly im p o rta n t h isto ry .
Just as scholars in creasin g ly h a v e n o te d th e im p o rta n c e of
oral h isto ry , so too h a v e c o m m u n ities in m a n y sta te s, in c lu d in g
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Iow a. D u rin g th e p a s t e ig h t y e a rs, several co m m u n ities in Iow a
h a v e s o u g h t f u n d s fro m su c h o rg a n iz a tio n s as th e Iow a H u ­
m an itie s B oard to s u p p o rt th e ir p ro je c ts of collecting oral
h isto ry . S om etim es, h o w e v e r, th e d e sig n e rs of th e se projects
h a v e se e m e d to fo rg et th a t A frican-A m ericans, few th o u g h
th e y m a y be in th e sta te , h a v e c re a te d a p a rt of Io w a 's h istory.
A s y o u r e tu r n to y o u r c o m m u n ities a n d y o u r fam ilies after
th is e v e n in g of oral h isto ry a n d A frican-A m erican exhibits in
th e library, I u rg e y o u to seek o u t th e eld ers; o p e n y o u r ears
a n d y o u r ta p e -re c o rd e rs to th em ; p re se rv e th eir m em o ries a n d
y o u r o w n in th e a rch iv es of Black o rg an iz atio n s a n d non-B lack
histo rical societies. C ollect y o u r h isto ry fro m th o se w h o h av e
liv ed it; a n d , like Pilate in T oni M o rriso n 's n o v e l Song of Solomon
(1977), c arry y o u r h isto ry w ith y o u —so th a t y o u w ill n e v e r
fo rg e t w h o y o u are a n d w h e re y o u h a v e b e e n .
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