Listen to This

Sound Portraits is a not-for-profit organization that purports to tell stories from ignored or lost American voices, thereby depicting the lives of people who are marginalized and forgotten. The following are two fascinating examples that are worth listening to:

Here is Julius Howell, a Confederate Civil War General. He describes joining the Southern army, being captured by bluebellies, and going to a Union prison camp, where he found out about Lincoln's assassination. It was recorded in 1947 at the Library of Congress, when Howell was 101 years old.

http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/civil_war_general/

Here is Fountain Hughes, at 101 years old and a former slave, speaking about being a slave.

http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/former_slave/