Freedom Narratives focuses on the enforced migration of "Atlantic Africans," that is enslaved Africans in the Atlantic world during the era of the slave trade.

The Project examines biographical accounts of individuals born in West Africa who were enslaved in the 16th through the 19th century. The focus is on testimony, the voices of individual Africans.

The Project uses an online digital repository of autobiographical testimonies and biographical data of Atlantic Africans to analyze patterns in the slave trade of West Africa, specifically in terms of where individuals came from, why they were enslaved, and what happened to them.

Freedom Narratives focuses on people born in Africa and hence in most cases had been born free rather than on those who were born into slavery in the Americas or elsewhere. The individuals in this repository include those who travelled within West Africa as well as those who experienced the "Middle Passage," i.e., the Atlantic crossing, which is often seen as a defining moment in the slavery experience. Sometimes these accounts are referred to as "slave narratives" but in our estimation, such testimonies more accurately reflect "freedom narratives" because in most cases where testimonies have survived, individuals were born free and subsequently regained their freedom. The site also includes individuals who were never enslaved.

Freedom Narratives enables an examination of biographical testimonies as the fundamental units of analysis, whether the primary texts arise from first person memory or survive via amanuensis. Whenever possible, original testimonies are supplemented with biographical details culled from legal, ecclesiastical, and other types of records.