Work Projects Administration

The Work Projects Administration (WPA), later renamed the Work Progress Administration, was a U.S. government agency established in 1935 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. One of its divisions, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), was tasked with employing writers during the Great Depression. Under the direction of the FWP, one of the most notable achievements was the collection and documentation of the narratives of former slaves. 'The Voices From The Margins: Authentic Recorded Life Stories by Former Slaves' stands as a monumental anthology, compiled by writers of the WPA, that has preserved the invaluable oral histories of African Americans who endured the inhumanity of slavery. This significant work offers profound insight into the personal experiences and cultural heritage of former slaves, contributing to the narrative history and ethnography of the United States. The scholarly relevance of this collection lies not only in its primary source material for the study of slavery and African American history but also in its exemplification of the ethnographic methods and narrative style employed by WPA writers of the period. Although the WPA was dissolved in 1943, its legacy endures through the rich body of literature, data, and historical records it produced, particularly those that serve to amplify the voices that might otherwise have been lost to history.