"De men who owned de plantations had to have somebody to farm dere lan' an' de slaves had to have somewhur to stay. Dats de way it wus, so if dere wus a lot of movin' about de exslaves kept doin de wurk cause dat's de only way dey had to keep from perishin'. De marsters needed 'em to farm dere lan' an' de exslaves just had to have somewhur to live so both parties kept stayin' an' wurkin together.

"De nigger made mos' dey has out of workin' fer white folks since de war 'cause dey didn't have nuthin' when set free an dat is all dere is to it."


N.C. District:2
Worker:Travis Jordan
No. Words:700
Subject:MILLIE MARKHAM'S STORY
Interviewed:
Millie Markham
615 St. Joseph St., Durham, N.C.

[TR: Date stamp: JUN 1 1937]


EX-SLAVE STORY AS TOLD BY MILLIE MARKHAM

OF 615 ST. JOSEPH ST., DURHAM, N.C.