Searching for a name of book/author

Hi Everyone,
I got a strange request here, so please pardon me if this is not the right place to post the request, as I could not find any other forum.
I am actually looking for a book name/author.
The story is about an African-American slave written by his grandson (a 3rd generation African-American) :D ... that is all I know.
It is about the hardship faced by the slaves in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
It would be really very helpful, if someone could provide me even with vague author names as I don't mind searching the net for them.
Thanks in advance.
cipher23

That premise of that book sounds familiar, but I cannot think of the author.