Using the WPA Slave Narratives – w/ Cynthia Lynn Lyerly

From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers' Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly outlines unique insights these texts can add to your curriculum. You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.  And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd. 

Om Podcasten

From Learning for Justice and host Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Ph.D., Teaching Hard History brings us the crucial history we should have learned through the voices of leading scholars and educators. The series, which includes four seasons that originally aired from 2018 to 2022, begins with the long and brutal legacy of slavery and reaches through the victories of and violent responses to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Americans' experiences during the Jim Crow era to the issues we face today. Join us as we relaunch this podcast series, highlighting an episode each week and including a new resource page with key points from the conversation, resources and connections for building learning experiences.