Title: Daisy Turner's kin
Description: "A daughter of freed African American slaves, Daisy Turner became a living repository of history. The family narrative entrusted to her--'a well-polished artifact, an heirloom that had been carefully preserved'--began among the Yoruba in West Africa and continued with her own long lifetime. In 1983, folklorist Jane Beck began to interview Turner, then one hundred years old and still relating four generations of oral history. In her book Daisy Turner's Kin, Beck uses Turner's storytelling to build the Turner family saga, using as its foundation the oft-repeated touchstone stories at the heart of their experiences: the abduction into slavery of Turner's African ancestors; Daisy's father learning to read; his return as a soldier to his former plantation to kill the overseer; Daisy's childhood stand against racism; and her family's life in Vermont. Beck weaves in historical research and offers a folklorist's perspective on oral history and the hazards and uses of memory."--Page 4 of cover.
Subjects: Social conditions, African American families, African Americans, Family, Biography, African americans, history, Families
Places: Vermont
People: Turner family, Daisy Turner (1883-1988)
Time periods: 20th century, 19th century