During the Depression, one of the government work programs involved the Library of Congress recording narratives of various black Americans who had been slaves. Interestingly, their accounts were recorded in their exact words--with the vernacular of the day. Some today might blanch at this due to the very politically incorrect language but it helped to make the stories seem more real and complete.
In this HBO documentary, modern black actors and actresses read many of these accounts. Their readings were very realistic and made for some very compelling moments. Much of the time they were acting out the accounts, you see various photos of the day as well as video recreated for this film. The overall effect is extraordinary--and very moving. In particular, the discussion of the sexual assaults on slave women and beatings are hard to hear but very important to understanding the day. Also, you might be surprised by a few of the narratives that are positive in their depiction of the white masters or that showed great pride in how hard they worked as slaves. I am glad such stories were included so as to provide a full spectrum of the slave experiences and attitudes.
The bottom line is that this is a great piece of history--once that you can't forget--nor should you. It's also a nice chance to see and hear from several exceptional actors in their later years who have since died--such as the glorious voices of Roscoe Lee Browne and Ossie Davis.
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