• Project Timeline

• Introduction to the LOC collection (PDF)

• 1941 introduction to the LOC collection (PDF)

• Introduction to the Mississippi Narratives

• Instructions to the interviewers (PDF)

• Sample narratives

• Introduction to the Index

• Acknowledgements

• Foreword by Dr. Charles Joyner

About the Collection

In 1972, George P. Rawick was Associate Professor of Sociology at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. He earned his A.B. from Oberlin College and his M.S. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin. As a postdoctoral fellow, he studied sociology and anthropology at Cornell University.

"As a source for the study of slavery from the bottom up, the narratives are invaluable." Choice

From Sundown to Sunup: The Making of the Black Community

Original WPA memos and guidelines to writers in the field are included in the appendixes to From Sundown To Sunup: The Making of the Black Community, by George P. Rawick. From Sundown To Sunup is the author's introductory treatise to the collection published by Greenwood starting in 1972. You can buy the text here.

The memos and guidelines issued by the WPA help lend important context to the collected narratives. You may read them here in PDF:

Below is the table of contents of From Sundown To Sunup, with links to Rawick's introduction and first chapter in PDF:

Introduction

Part 1: The Sociology of Slavery in the United States

Part II: The Sociology of European and American Racism

Appendixes

Bibliography

Index