Raleigh woman discovers grandmother was a slave, wants to clear inaccuracies with her story

Gloria Feimster, a 92-year-old Raleigh native, told WRAL News she discovered part of her grandmother’s story lives in the Library of Congress.

Her grandmother, Emma Blalock, was interviewed in 1937 for the WPA Slave Narratives, a project the U.S. government undertook to try and document the stories of surviving Black Americans who were once enslaved.

“I didn't know my grandmother was a slave," Feimster said.

There’s just one problem. What was recorded almost 90 years ago is full of inaccuracies. 

Blalock's story recounts some of her experiences being enslaved in what used to be Auburn, North Carolina, currently parts of east Raleigh.

But here's the problem: according to birth certificates, Blalock would’ve been born in 1862. This means she would’ve been three years old when emancipation happened and likely would have no memory of that.

"During the interview, you probably want to answer the questions as accurately as you can," said her daughter, Angel Feimster, Blalock's great-granddaughter. "But everything is about self-preservation, almost like fight or flight at that point. It also may be a creative license on the interviewer's part."

Blalock is one of about 100 stories from the WPA narratives of people from Raleigh. Local historian Alan Welsh says he’s encountered similar stories of inaccurate accounts from other local families.

"Sometimes it was a communication issue where the interviewer would record what they heard the person say, but that wasn't really what they said," Welsh said.

A portion of Blalock's recorded story:

"No Sir, no readin' an' writin'. You had to work. Ha! ha! You let your marster or missus ketch you wid a book. Dat wus a strict rule dat no learnin' wus to be teached. I can't read an' write."Excerpt of Emma Blalock's story in the WPA Slave Narratives

Feimster would have been four at the time this interview was conducted. She says her grandmother would help her read the Bible as a little girl.

"That's why I was questioning the fact that it said she couldn't read or write," Gloria said. "She must've been able to read because when I would read (the Bible), and I would get a big word, she was always telling me (what that word was)."

Feimsteer also points out inaccuracies in the language representing her grandmother in this narrative, as shown above.

"I still haven't heard language like that before, I haven't heard anyone talk like this except in a movie, probably," she said. "When I read this, I couldn't associate it to my grandmother."

So how does this happen? Why did it happen?

UNC American Studies professor and author Blair Kelley worked with the WPA Narratives before and understands their importance but also their shortcomings.

"The WPA Interviews are usually quite a complicated bit of history for students and researchers," said Kelley. "We have to remember this is the height of Jim Crow Segregation, where Black citizens were not considered equals to whites. And then folks were hired on a local basis to interview subjects in the area."

Even though the details are fuzzy, Gloria and Angel had a chance to connect with a part of their family story they knew nothing about -- a piece of Raleigh history documented in the Library of Congress. 

"We have family reunions, and we have done our family tree, so this will just strengthen everything," Angel Feimster said. "It makes it that much more solid and sound."