Between 1932 and 1975, fieldworkers carried recording equipment across the American South and captured something no document can replace: formerly enslaved Americans telling their own histories, in their own voices. These Library of Congress interviews are among the only surviving audio testimony of slavery. Here, they remain full-length historical records with their original sources attached.
These specific interviews are not excerpted or downloadable in Quote Finder. The tool searches a separate, source-evidence-gated collection.
About the collection
The Archive of American Folk Song and allied federal projects recorded these interviews on aluminum discs and early field equipment. The speakers had been children or young adults under slavery and were elders at the microphone. They speak of family, work, faith, freedom’s arrival, and the world that followed.
Access and editorial boundary
The Library of Congress says it is unaware of restrictions on this collection and that the materials are free to use and reuse absent other restrictions, while also noting that privacy and publicity rights may apply. Selekt does not currently label these recordings public domain, and we exclude them from Quote Finder search and downloads pending stronger per-record evidence.
Read the Library of Congress rights statementThe source recordings
Transcripts retain period language, and the audio retains the noise of early field equipment. Both are part of the historical record.
Interview with Alice Gaston, Gee's Bend, Alabama, 1941
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Ann Scott, St. Helena Island, South Carolina, June 27, 1932 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Annie Williams, Petersburg, Virginia, ca. 1937-1940
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 1 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 2 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 3 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Harriet Smith, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 4 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 1 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 2 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 3 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 4 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 5 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 6 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 7 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Aunt Phoebe Boyd, Dunnsville, Virginia, 1935 (part 8 of 8)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Celia Black, Tyler, Texas, October 11, 1974
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Charlie Smith, Bartow, Florida, March 17, 1975
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Dave White, St. Simons Island, Georgia, July 26, 1933 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Dave White, St. Simons Island, Georgia, July 26, 1933 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Fountain Hughes, Baltimore, Maryland, June 11, 1949
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 1 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 2 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 3 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 4 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 5 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 (part 6 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Isom Moseley, Gee's Bend, Alabama, 1941
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Joe McDonald, Livingston, Alabama, 1940 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Joe McDonald, Livingston, Alabama, 1940 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Laura Smalley, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 1 of 5)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Laura Smalley, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 2 of 5)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Laura Smalley, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 3 of 5)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Laura Smalley, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 4 of 5)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Laura Smalley, Hempstead, Texas, 1941 (part 5 of 5)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Mrs. Williams, Norfolk, Virginia, ca. 1937-1940
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sally Ashton, Albemarle County, Virginia, Summer or Fall 1934
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Samuel Polite, St. Helena Island, South Carolina , June 27, 1932 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Samuel Polite, St. Helena Island, South Carolina, June 27, 1932 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sarah Ashton Brooks, Albemarle County, Virginia, Summer or Fall 1934
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sarah Garner, Virginia, May 7, 1935 (part 1 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sarah Garner, Virginia, May 7, 1935 (part 2 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sarah Garner, Virginia, May 7, 1935 (part 3 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Sarah Garner, Virginia, May 7, 1935 (part 4 of 4)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susan A. Quall, Johns Island, South Carolina, May 16, 1932 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susan A. Quall, Johns Island, South Carolina, May 16, 1932 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 1 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 2 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 3 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 4 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 5 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Susanna Rebecca Wright Thompson, Oldhams, Virginia, 1935 (part 6 of 6)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Uncle Billy McCrea, Jasper, Texas, 1940 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Uncle Billy McCrea, Jasper, Texas, 1940 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Uncle Bob Ledbetter, Oil City, Louisiana, 1940
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with unidentified former slaves from Virginia, Petersburg, Virginia, ca. 1937-1940
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Wallace Quarterman, Fort Frederica, St. Simons Island, Georgia, June 1935 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Wallace Quarterman, Fort Frederica, St. Simons Island, Georgia, June 1935 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Wallace Quarterman, St. Simons Island, Georgia, August 5, 1933 (part 1 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Interview with Wallace Quarterman, St. Simons Island, Georgia, August 5, 1933 (part 2 of 2)
Listen at the Library of Congress↗Continue exploring
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