First of all, do this activity from National Geographic about the underground railroad. Did you escape? If you were truly in that situation, do think it would have been that easy, or would you have turned your back on freedom? How does this change your thoughts on Frederick Douglass. How does this quote from the book relate... "There I was in the midst of thousands, and yet a perfect stranger; without home and without friends, in the midst of thousands of my own brethren - children of a common Father, and yet I dared not to unfold to any one of them my sad condition"(Douglass 93). How would you feel in his shoes?
Next, listen to this song by Brett Dennen entitled "I Asked When". How does his want to change society relate to the desires of Douglass? What do you think of his desires, are they impossible, or possible?
Finally, Watch the first 3 minutes and 40 seconds of this speech by Barack Obama about racism in America. How has his presidency changed, or not changed the racial structure of America? How do you think these problems can be solved in the future? How does his campaign relate, or not, to Frederick Douglass?
Once you have done all of these activities, discuss the book as a whole, and how it relates to modern racism and modern freedoms. Don't forget to use proper blogging etiquette and respond to other's comments!
35 comments:
Well I escaped but I think the activity made it awfully easy. I honestly don't believe I would have the physical or mental endurance to escape from slavery though I sure as heck would try. It would be horrifying to attempt like though and I'm sure Frederick Douglass felt that pressure as well. There was hardly anyone you knew you could trust for sure and so it would be really hard.
I did escape when I did the activity but I was also picking the choices that my sensibility told me would let me win the game.
I'm not sure what I would do if I was in that situation. I mean, yeah, you're free, but honestly? You are there, without family and without friends, always watching behind your back for your former masters and owners.
It would be hard. I would probably be torn between misery and happiness. It would just be hard to say.
I did escape. I do not think it would have been that easy; I think it would have been absolutely horrible and one of the worst experiences a human could have, excepting slavery, but I still would have gone on. I would not have turned my back on freedom - it is too great a priz. The only thing that would have kept me from my freedom, had I been douglass, would have been my own death.
Honestly, I probably would not have had the guts to even undertake the underground. I knew what would it would take to be free, but it is a scary and unpredicting journey. This book and activity just prove to me, even more, how much courage it takes to rebel, and fight for rights.
I highly doubt making the journey to freedom would be that easy. I cannot even comprehend the fear of each step. The hardships and the hunger I would have to endure.
As far as the quote, it shows how lonely slavery really makes the slaves. They are kept in the company of other poeple, but all their interactions are controlled by slavery. When Douglass is free he does not know how to act with other people who do not treat him as a slave.
Lauren- I definitely agree with you. The activity did kind of make it feel like a "duh" thing, but I think that if we were really in that situation, it would have been much more difficult to gather the courage to accomplish that. I honestly don't know if I would have had the courage to do that. I like to think I would, but you never know.
Yes I escaped! I definitely don't think it would have been easy to find freedom, but honestly no slaves did. It had to have been nerve-wrecking, caused hunger, and required them to step out of their comfort zone. For me personally, I have no idea what I would have done. I would of been split right down the center especially because I'm the worst at decision making to begin with. But my conscience would have said to stay so that I get some food and wouldn't take the risk of getting caught. But then there is the whole other side of my heart that says go because there is freedom. If I wasn't going alone, I would have gone. I could never imagine being put in their position. I find it impossible for ANYONE to imagine being put in their position.
I escaped, but I don't think it would have been that easy. I don't know if I would have been able to overcome the fear of being caught and possibly being killed. You have to consider that anyone you meet could turn you in, and it would be very hard to have no one to trust. It was very easy to pick the button that said go into the house with the lantern, but in real life I don't know if I would have done that. All the slaves that did escape were very brave.
So in regards to the song I think it shows a cold truth about the world today. We say we are free but are we really? Even in America there is still racism and don't get me started on the rest of the world. A repeating theme of the song is when is the revolution? Everyone, not just blacks are wondering when the world will truly be free or if it's even possible at all.
I agree with Lauren C that I escaped but that the program made it easy. (Not that it wasn’t a good activity :) it was fun!) But when I honestly started thinking about approaching some house of someone unknown to me and asking them to break the law, I think I would have gotten very scared! I hate to say it, but I’m not sure if I would have sought out freedom. I’d be too scared, but then again, it’d be worse than staying at my masters house. I’m not too sure. In general it’s all just scary.
If I was truly in this situation, I really doubt I'd end up free. Slaves had to completely rely on what other people told them, where to go, whose house to seek refuge in. I don't think I coud've put so much faith into people I didn't even know. Also, as a slave, I don't think I'd even know that I had the chance to be free. I would take it as I'm a slave, white people will always be free, but I can't. I wouldn't even see freedom as a possibility. That's why I admire Frederick Douglass, he pushed for freedom even though he was so blinded as a slave.
I most defnitely agree with laurenc! I think it is very hard to just endure the physical aspects of slavery, much less the mental. I do not think i would have the strength to try to even escape in the first place, knowing what the consequences would be!I am sure Frederick Douglass had boat loads of courage, to even think about escaping and becoming a free man!
I agree with Lauren. Nothing could ever give us the a worth while situation as these slaves had to endure, but it was some what helpful. It is easy when outside of the situation to make decisions, but in the moment, when you are in such incredible pain and truly in the situation where not a single soul is trust worthy, the ability to make those decisions changes, or ideas change. I can not even image what the other slaves as well as Frederick had to endure to escape slavery. As the quote says, there is not a single person he feels comfortable with. That is the sad reality he had to face. People are people, but not in this time period. White American's created a difference between humans, which made his travels and all of the other slaves much more difficult.
If I were really in the situation that I was put in during the activity, I wouldn't have made it. Everything, every opportunity, seemed like a risk, too big to take. Courage is a hard thing to come by, especially when you are a slave, and I don't think I would have it! I would definitely need a lot of comfort and encouragement from my peers to keep moving on toward my goal.
I thought the song was extremely powerful. It described what it felt like to lose everything, and to have to live life longing to be free. He explains the hardships that had to be experienced, and also the terrible and depressing sights that were seen. It made you put yourself in the shoes of the singer and catch a glimpse of what it must have felt like.
For one, I failed in the underground railroad. Yay! I agree with those who said that they doubt it would have been that easy. As for the song, I think the lyrcis themselves were good, and no offense to anyone that likes that guy, but personally I thought the voice of that guy was bad, and it kind of detracted from the whole thing, at least for me.
I don't know how i would have felt if I had to go through this. When I read things about slavery I immediately think that I would have run away. However, you have to experience slavery to truly decide. After the slaves had to go through the intimitation and suffering they were much more afraid to try escaping. I can't even imagine what it would have been like. The escape activity was way to easy in my opinion. Lastly, I'm not going to go into my political views because this is not the place or time. However I believe it is a huge leap and I hope people's views will change.
I understand that this would obviously be a difficult task, both mentally and physically, but don't you think you would have enough motivation to leave because of the horrible life you are living and the unthinkable ways you are being treated? It's like they are already as low as they could possible get, and once you hit the bottom, the only way to go is up.
The song has to do with seeing things that need change and actually going out and changing them. So many people have not gone out and changed what is cleary wrong. This is protest song of that, just as Frederick Douglass protests and goes out and changes slavery.
I wouldn't exactly say that Obama's election has changed the racial status of this country, at least not yet. I think what will really change things is what he accomplishes in office. As of now, just by having him run for president, we were exposed to how deep the hatred and racism still run through our nation and our culture.
Moragnt - Exactly. It's easy to say you would be able to run from the law and starve and live in constant fear because you know it isn't happening to you and you can't even begin to imagine what a life like that would be like. So many slaves that tried to escape were caught and I think that fear alone might make me hesitate and stay put. It's sad but it's true.
Obviously, the world of Fredrick DOuglas and our world today are two very different places, yet their are some significant similarities, mainly the fact that there is still racsim present in the United States. This can be seen in schools, business, etc., yet unlike the America of Fredrick Douglass's time, the type of segregation/racism is very different. The predominant type in the days of slavery was the dejure, which was segregation through laws. There was also defacto, which was harder to remove than the dejure. This type of segregation is evident in today's society, yet it is not as conscious as before. It exists in the form of stereotypes and instinct, and will be harder to exterminate. But this doesn't mean that it is as bad as racism in the 19th century, or that we should give up hope of truly eradicating racism.
Yay! I made it. I know I would have had a hard time adjusting and opening up after having to be so careful of my words and actions for my entire life.
The song related to the desires of Douglass because he wants so badly to see and aid in the end of slavery but he has been so constricted he was unable to.
I think that the election of Obama means that people will have to deal with their predjudices. It is no longer okay to murder or abuse anyone because of their race. It is very possible that some people will try or even succede in assasinating Obama but the majority of people will find that they will let go of some of the grudges they have held throughout several generations.
Yep, I think that it would have been much more difficult to escape than how the program made it. I did, but I think that is how the game is rigged. As for Mr. Obama's speech, I thought that it was interesting how he included the constitution in his slavery topic. Interesting.
I think that when Obama was determined president-elect, that he made it known that skin color doesn’t/shouldn’t make a difference. I thought that it was amazing the reaction that all the minorities had when he was elected. It was great how he gave them hope that they can do anything they want…even become president.
The words that most stood out to me in this song were "by the fences put up around my mind
i watched them thicken into walls over time." This line really hit me because I think that slaves are not educated and thus their minds are closed off the other ideas about how life could be. Most slaves are kept so in the dark that they truly do not understand that they have a right to freedom, for they are brainwashed into thinking that slavery is their lot in life.
I escaped in this activity, however, I don't think that I would have survived at all if I had to really go through. I would have lacked a lot of trust of white people because I was a slave. I think that a lot of slaves were skeptical as to escaping because they really weren't sure what would become of them, if they would find a place to live after escaping. Or if they would, under the worst circumstances, get caught.
I agree with Lauren. This was nothing compared to what the journey must have been like. I was stressed just having to make a single decision during this computer game, I can only imagine what it would have been like to have to do it in real life. I also agree though, with Lauren, with the continuing on. There would be no doubt in my mind that running is the only option at that point, and really, ever.
The song had such a feel of hope and yearning that made me want to start a revolution! I think it embodied the deep feelings that people who were slaves would have had. It seems like it is the honest desire that runs in the souls of the oppressed and the enlightened.
I think that this speech by Barack Obama was really something that captures the lifelong personal desire to be free, but I don't think that it poses any ideas that are truly new to the issue. I'm not sure that this presidency is going to alter the demographics of the nation other than just inspiring some kids to reach farther in their lives that may not have initially.
Obama has undoubtedly started to change the racial structure of America. I think maybe electing him president may spark something inside of Americans. It could be good or bad. It could be taken either way. For some, it may bring out the subconscious racism, and for others it may be a huge step towards "progress." As for these problems to be solved in the future, it will just take time to figure out the solutions.
ParkerH-Yeah I for sure agree with you! I really thought that his thoughts would be better conveyed in a speech or something that sounded better. I like all of his ideas though!
As many problems as we have, we have less than most people (ok, I may be biased there...), and we also haven't been around nearly as long as lots of these places (Europe, East and Southern Asia, Middle East, and so on...). So really, I think we're doing pretty well. I'm not saying there aren't things we could fix, but we have fixed a lot, and more than lots of places.
Douglass wants society to change so he wants a revolution. He wants the slaves to stand up for themselves. He also wants people, to not be so hypocritical. He talks about this in the appendix. “Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other-devils dressed in angel’s robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise.” He is saying you may believe what is in the bible and what your religion believes but you don’t follow through with your actions. He wants religious slave holders to talk the talk and walk the walk.
In regards to Obama, political views aside. I would like to believe that he was voted for his ideas instead of his skin color. I heard on the radio once that a portion of voters were afraid to vote against Obama because they didn't want to be considered racist. So where do you draw the line? When does equality become tipped the opposite way to where we are afraid of sounding racist when really we are treating those of other nationalities equally?
When will it not matter if Obama is a black man? When will he be viewed as just a man?
I do think that Obama will help with the rascism issues we have today, especially as Mrs. Leclaire said. This is going to help start to break the subconcious sterotypes. It will take a long time of many people to break these types of racism, but this is a powerful start; for a leader of our country to be African American. That is huge.
I escaped, but I feel that this game was not a true reflection of the actions I would have taken. It is easy for us to have the courage to press a button on the computer but it would be different if I were in a situation where my life is in danger. I know that I would not have the courage to walk up to a white person's house and ask for help after all I had risked.
"i watched them thicken into walls over time taller than any boarder line" I thought these lines did a really good job of saying how the laws aren't the only thing that kept rasicm at the extremes it was, it was the ideas and values instilled in the slave holders and slaves.
LAURENC - interesting point! I was thinking about that too, because it seems like we have almost become too senstive to not being racist. I just remember during the election when people could not say anything against Obama because people would call you racist. Yet people could put displays of the hanging the republican candidates or call them pigs. Thus, I think race was definately on Obama's side instead of against him.
Thoughts?
To begin; I sure don’t think it would be as easy as nat. geo. makes it! I think that the quote relates because just as “we” were afraid to enter the house with the lantern because it could be a fake, Frederick could not tell or talk to anyone about "his condition", he could not ask someone for help because he didn’t know who he could trust or not. This makes me sad, thinking about having no one around to trust would be sad and I think that it must have broke a lot of people.
The song that we listened to relates because both the song and Douglass have hopes for society that were far off and seemingly impossible at the time. Maybe someday things will be completely better and perfect as these two men wished. But I also think some things are too deeply rooted in our history to change.
I think that the goals of Obama will come true in the near future, and I think his presidency has already changed some racial feelings. With this considered I don’t really feel that we picked him for president because he is black we voted for him because of his ideas. Also, a lot of African Americans voted for McCain. Both of these things show how far we have come since Fredericks time, we can put aside the colors of people’s skin and look at their ideas and values.
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