"Having Our Say"

Paper Summary:

The work, "Having Our Say" by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany, is one of the most foundational works expressing black American values through modern oral history techniques. This paper shows that many of those who have said and done extraordinary things in extraordinary times are not artists and writers, but everyday people with a simple set of values passed down to them by their times and the most influential people in their lives, their parents. The paper shows that the thoughts and expressions of value and quiet perseverance of the Delany sisters are a direct reflection of the words, actions, and thoughts of their loving and wise parents, Nanny James Logan Delany and Henry Beard Delany.

From the Paper:

"Mr. and Mrs. Delany challenged their circumstances daily while still making sure they protected themselves and their children. In one memorable passage in the work the Delany sisters comment of the way in which their parents referred to one another. They called each other Mr. and Mrs. Delany, not because they felt the need to be overly formal or pretentious but because, as the sisters put it, people of color were referred to by their first names almost exclusively in public because, "It was a way of treating them with less dignity." (9) "

More papers on "Having Our Say":

• Book Review # 56413 : "Having Our Say"
• Book Review # 10787 : "Having our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Sarah & Elizabeth Delany & Amy Hill Hearth"
• Argumentative Essay # 117781 : "Say No To Slavery Reparations"

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