ot ob Yankee niggah gals kum down 'yer en
hire out."

"W'en I wuz a young girl hund'eds ob people went ter de wharf at de
foot ob Broadway on de fust Sunday in May ob eber'y year fer de annual
baptizin' ob new members inter de Baptist (culored) churches ob de
city. Thousands ob white people would crowd both sides ob de
Cumberland Riber, Broadway en de Sparkman Street Bridge ter witnus de
doin's. On leavin' de chuches de pastor would lead de parade ter de
wharf. Dey would sing en chant all de way fum de chuch ter de river en
sum ob de members would be ovuhkum wid 'ligious feelin' en dey would
hop up en down, singin' en shoutin' all de time, or may be dey would
start ter runnin' down de street en de brethern would hab ter run dem
down en bring dem back."

"We useter hav' dem champ meetin's en dey wuz "honeys," en I enjoy dem
too. We wore bandanna handkerchiefs on our haids en long shawls ovuh
our shoulders. At deze meetin's dey had all kinds ob good things ter
eat en drink."

"Atter mah freedum I dun washin' en Ironin' fer white families. Neber
ma'ried but I neber worries no matter w'at happens en dat's may be
cause ob mah livin' so long."

"Things ter day ez mighty bad. Not lak de ole days. Worl' ez gwin ter
end soon."

"Atter I got ter feeble ter do washin' en ironin' fer mah livin', I
went ter de Relief Office ter git dem ter he'ps me, but dey wouldn't
do a thing. I had no place ter go er no money ter do wid. Dis culid
'oman tuk me in en does all she can fer me but now she ez disable ter
wuk en I dunno w'at ter do. Ef'n I could git a small grocer order each
week til I git de ole Age Pension hit would he'p lots."

INTERVIEW
ELLIS KEN KANNON
328 5th Avenue N.
St. Mary's Church
Nashville, Tennessee

"I dunno jes how ole I ez. I wuz bawn in Tennessee as a slave. Mah
mammy kum frum Virginia. Our marster wuz Ken Kannon."

"Our Mistress wouldn't let us slaves be whup'd but I member mah daddy
tellin' 'bout de Overseer whuppin' 'im en he run 'way en hid in a log.
He tho't de blood hounds, he heered 'bout a half mile 'way, on his
trail could heer 'im breathe but de hounds nebber fin' 'im. Atter de
hounds pas' on, mah daddy lef' de log hidin' place en w'en he got ter
a blacksmith shop, he se'ed a white man wid a nigger who had handcuffs
on en w'en de white man tuk off de handcuffs, de nigger axed mah daddy
whar he wuz gwine en he tole 'im back ter mah Mistress en de nigger
sezs I ez too. Mah daddy slipped 'w