An African American Family Saga – by Jane C. Beck
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, and 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. Beck uses Turner’s storytelling to build the Turner family saga, using it as a foundation for the oft-repeated touchstone stories at the heart of the Turners’ 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.