Slave Narrative

Interviewed at houston, Texas

Interviewer not identified

Age when interviewed:96

"It was all a dream" thats what i have been saying all these years. It helps me for a moment to forget the horrible moments i have pass through. I wish i had forgoten about it and never remember the pain. But its not like that i may not show it from the outside but from the inside im breaking into little pieces. My name if Rhianna Jackson. Iwas born in Botswana. I was only five years old when i became a slave.

It started when i got capture by these guy that took me to this place were i was sold as a slave being separated by family. So the guy that buyed me took me to South Africa were he owned that land so he was my Master there i saw other slaves working. It was horrible no matter how young or old we were, they didn't care at all. We made our own clothes and we work everyday in any type of climate. We were a lot like about 250 slaves. We were all divided into four different groups, each group would do a different job. The first group would do plantation which thats what i did the second group would serve the Master, the third group would build or fix a new or old part of the Master's house and the last group would clean up all the house.

They had all the slaves on check if they saw you resting and not working they would whipp you with a stick for 30 minutes. But thats not all if you did not obey the master, they would whipp you with a stick that had nails pointing out around it. If a slave tryed to escaped they would whipped them to death. So nobody has ever think about escaping.

There was this time that we were working on the plantation and next to me was a boy like about 10 years old. The master was observing us so he saw him and asked him what was his name, the boy did not answer and again the master asked him and again he ignored him. By the third time the master asked him he didn't answer at all so the master got mad and took the stick with the nails and whipped him to death in front of all of us and after killing him he order to burn him. I got more fear and i couldn't believe what i was seing, the master whipping a kid, blood being spread all over the place, i cryied and i was really mad. I have never forgoten it.

Since that happen all i could think about my freedom, how i could get out of these place so i decided to get revenge for the boys death because it really did hurt me and also escape. I asked to see the Master personaly and when i did he asked me what i wanted and at then i had a big stone in my hand , so i got closer and hit him 2 times in the head and made him bleed from his for head and faint. As soon as he felt a ran out making sure that nobody would see me put they did and they were chasing me. For a while i was still running until a saw these gave were i got in and waited till the next day. I have heard a lot of noise like if they were cheering when i came out i saw the slaves that i knew running with a smile on there faces. I asked one of them what was happening he told me the yankees had come to give us our freedom. Now im 96 years old. I have wrote these story for people to read about my life and my pain. I just want the people who read this to know what i have past through, to apreciate there live and what they have, because luckly they haven't past what i did, and i didn't have what they had in those times. I moved to and married a man named john and had three kids 2 girl twins and one boy.

Reflections: This is so horrible how can people whipp slaves even kill them and they don't regret it. i wounder how they would feel if they lost a family member that way or them being replace as a slave. But luckily that past and we are not suffering no more i that way. I just feel bad for all does who did had to past through these.