Oral family custody outlasted archives designed to erase enslaved people’s lineage.

Evidence

The elders knew that they could not trust history or history books to tell their family stories. So, for safekeeping, they embedded these stories in the hearts and minds of their young. It was both a privilege and a responsibility to be entrusted with the family stories: “Always remember,” “Never forget,” and “Write it down.” And because of the obedience and perseverance of his children, I am able to prove that I’m a direct descendant of Renty Taylor, the subject of the Harvard slave daguerreotypes. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1148

Categorization

• SEED: The counter-archive thesis: intergenerational oral transmission functioned as a deliberate alternative to official records.
• XREF: Echoes the midwife’s diary in A Midwife’s Tale, where marginalized people’s records must be read against official archives.