Moreover, as Chapter 1 in this volume suggests, indigenous Africans derived from equally rich oral cultures on which they were forced to rely and upon which they could build. Given the fact that many enslaved Africans were not allowed to learn to read and write, indeed that many states had laws forbidding such learning, it is not surprising that vibrant oral traditions developed among those who suffered through American bondage. Throughout its tenure on United States soil, African American literature has reflected a combination of History written with a capital “H” and history written in the lower case of everyday folk, that is, the masses of unlettered black folks for whom orality was the primary mode of cultural conveyance.
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