Introduction: Before You Get Onboard:Maybe a store employee followed you around because they thought you looked like a potential shoplifter. Maybe your parents ignored your ideas when it came to family decisions. Maybe you just weren’t given the respect you think you deserve as a human being and a child of God.
Imagine being born into a life where you were treated as property, denied education, family, choices, and most of all freedom. We will be studying the darkest part of American history, the time of slavery. Specifically we will dig into an amazing poem by Robert Hayden titled“Runagate Runagate” and look at the role of Spirituals in the survival and escape to freedom of the slaves in America. In the process, we will hone our poetry skills, refine our research skills by working with some primary sources, and most importantly, take the opportunity to grow as people by walking around in someone else’s skin for a while.
This will not be an easy ride. It wasn’t easy for the slaves and we need to feel some of that pain to really understand who we are as a nation and who we want to be as Americans and individuals. So, come along, take a ride on the Underground Railroad. Along the way you may long for “freedom, oh freedom” while finally understanding why anyone would sing “before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave.” The “Sweet Chariot” may be coming to take you home, but is it an earthly home or a heavenly home?
Step One: A little background before we start!
(Time: 1-2 class periods)
Class Exercise: KWL
- Take a stack of post-it notes and write on at least 5 post-its, what you "Know" about slavery.
- On 3 post-it notes, write what you "Want" to know about slavery.
- Post your post-its on the large sheets of paper in the front of the room.
Watch excerpts from Underground Railroad produced by the History Channel.
Step Two: Read Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Step Two: Poetry Workshop
(Time: In Class - 1 day)
- Read: "Runagate Runagate" by Robert Hayden. Use the handout or link.
- Using the attached handout, study and then discuss with a partner the poem until you have a good understanding of it.
- Share the findings of your pair with the class and the questions that you still want answered to give you a fuller understanding of the poem and the history behind it.
Step Three: Background Knowledge of the Underground Railroad
(Time: Homework - 1 hour)
- Take a ride on “The Underground Railroad” by Scholastic
- Use this interactive guide to travel on the Underground Railroad from slavery to freedom. Take your time. Read the information, look at the pictures, and put yourself in the shoes of an escaping slave in America in the mid 1800’s. Be sure to work on a computer with headphones or a speaker so you can hear the sound too!
- "Pathways to Freedom" Interactive Site
- This site uses flash player, so if you are on an iPad, you will need to use Rover or another browser that supports flash. .
- Optional: The Melrose Interactive Slavery Environment: If you want to explore this topic further, you can check out this interactive website. It will bring you to a wealthy slave owner’s home where you can tour the home while gaining insight into the life of slaves that were not working on plantations or in fields, but in mansions in the South. This is NOT required.
tep Four: Exploring the Spiritual
(Time: Homework - combined activities should take 1-2 hours to complete.)
- Listen to at least 4 spirituals on this website to get a feel for the rhythm and lyrics of traditional spirituals.
- Choose 2-3 of the following links, read the information on the pages, then answer the questions on the "Spirituals" handout.
- In Class: Knowing what you know now about the Underground Railroad and the Spiritual, go back to the poem "Runagate Runagate" and see if you can find any allusions to lyrics from famous spirituals. Work with your partner and then share your findings with the class.
Former Slaves Reflections - Primary Source Materials
Listen to at least 3 reflections of former slaves. You can read the transcripts or listen to the audio files. I recommend the audio files since part of the experience is listening to the dialect and cadence of their voices. You could do a combination of both.
These links will bring you to a number of interviews:
"Voices from the Days of Slavery"
"American Slave Narratives"
"Been Here So Long"
Optional: Extension of Elijah of Buxton
To learn more about Buxton, Ontario, Canada, click on the link to the Buxton Historical Museum. If you want to hear from the author about the novel, click on the box to the right where it says "video interview."