How Do Black Authors Perusade Others With Stories? (feat. Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington)

During the United States’ long road from slavery toward civil rights, many Black authors have produced works that spread personal experience, revealing parts of the United States that tried to hide. In this blog, I would like to focus on two specific works, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (1861), and Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (1901). These two autobiographies highlight important topics regarding slavery and the injustice that occurred during their lives. However, one important difference comes from the purpose in writing these autobiographies and the intended audience of each. On one hand, Jacobs writes to persuade and educate Northerners by showcasing slavery’s sexual and domestic brutality. On the other hand, Washington writes in an attempt to uplift others, showing how hard work and education can lead to advancement for Black Americans.

Harriet Jacobs makes her purpose very clear from the start and remains present throughout the entire autobiography. In fact, one of the main reasons she wrote a preface to the book was to bring up the fact that she wished to “arouse the women of the North” against slavery. To accomplish that, she writes her autobiography to share her traumatic experience as a slave in hopes of spreading the truth about slavery to the people in the North. The information that she chooses to include and the wording of the information changes as a result of this goal. Jacobs realizes that most people in the North most likely do not want to read an autobiography that focuses only on gruesome depictions of how they were treated, because doing so might break the norm for what was “socially okay to do” in the North. Though she still describes the unjust treatment and horrible punishments, she also goes to great lengths to make things more understandable and relatable for Northern readers, including metaphors relating to religion and focusing on the impact on herself. This way, she can both spread her experience and also make people in the North more likely to sympathize and share with others.

Booker T. Washington’s autobiography follows a slightly different structure, and his purpose is not explicitly stated. Though he does so in the beginning, Washington does not spend quite as much time delving into his negative experiences in slavery as Jacobs did. Rather, he includes discussions on the parts of slavery that had a positive impact on slaves. For example, he discusses how slaves gained skills and experience from working for their masters. He also talks about how some slaves had close connections with their masters, which made them more inclined to care for them during the Civil War and created conflicting feelings at the end when they were freed. In addition to this, Washington shares his journey towards better education, detailing his hard-work and the effort he put in to get to where he was. Ultimately, Washington’s point becomes clear in his “cast down your buckets where you are” statement. Black Americans should be putting their head down to work hard and self-improve using what they have around them, rather than pursuing more. Washington writes in an attempt to both inspire other Black Americans and persuade potential white supporters.

Both of these autobiographies are a specially crafted creation that works not only to unveil the truth about the treatment of slaves, but also towards another, greater goal. In the case of Harriet Jacobs, she writes in order for people in the North to become more educated on the experiences and horrors of women in slavery. In the case of Booker T. Washington, he writes to inspire other Black Americans to work hard and highlight the usefulness of Black Americans for others. These differences stem in part from the time period in which each was written. Jacobs, having written and published her autobiography in the 1860s, wishes more people would come to fight against slavery. Washington writes around the 1900s though, when slavery had been abolished but Black Americans were still facing racism, so his focus is on building a path forward within an unequal society. Together, the two texts show how Black autobiography can be both personal and political, changing its tone and goals depending on what is still being fought for.