Oral History: Is it reliable?

I came across a really interesting book at the library. It's called, "Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad," by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard. 

That same day, I came across an article that butchered the book. A lot of accusations were made. They even insulted the author because she's white, and basically because she was white she didn't understand what she was researching, and had researched it poorly. The truth is - the author of the article was firmly against oral history. In fact, very antagonistic toward it. And since the story is based on oral history - the writer didn't like it.

To me, that's just sheer ignorance. Perhaps it's because I'm Jewish and oral history is a part of my culture. But, reality is this - Africa, Asia, South America, the US, Canada, tribes all over the world have always relied on oral history to remember the past. The best minds of each generation transferred that knowledge to the next generation. And yes, it was accurate, because accuracy was essential. History was important.

The same can be said for the Africans who were captured and brought here. They brought their oral history with them. Just as we Jews took our oral history with us into the Diaspora. They took theirs. They cherished it. They found ways of recording it so they didn't forget where they came from.

When the underground railroad formed, they used that tradition, those symbols that were known to each tribe, and found ways to communicate escape routes. 

I'm really looking forward to reading this book over the weekend. And you can bet, there will be a lot of information that will make the stories I'm writing rock.  :)