A group of young kids huddled together Feb. 8, nervously waiting to see if they would be sold back into slavery. A bounty hunter inspected their teeth, hair and muscles, and made them do push-ups to see if they were quality stock that could yield a hefty reward, ultimately dismissing most of the bunch.
Seconds before being waylaid by the greedy opportunist, the disguised fugitives were tiptoeing around a corner debating written instructions that were to take them to freedom in hushed whispers.
They hurried back on their way before their foe changed her mind and traded them on the black market. But just when it seemed as though they avoided potential catastrophe, another adversary intercepted the scared children.
“We’re going to a funeral. Our cousin died yesterday,” said escapee Joey Nieves, thinking quickly and improvising a cover story when the woman told them to halt and asked where they were headed. “These flowers we have are for his grave.”
“You’re very suspicious. You better high-tail it out of here, otherwise I’ll turn you in next time I see you in these parts,” said the slave catcher, squinting her eyes distrustfully.
As a culmination of a unit on the Underground Railroad, fourth-graders at Washington Elementary School in Wheaton participated in a slave escape day. The simulation sent the students on a perilous voyage from their plantations through the “forest” to Canada, the Promised Land. Groups followed clues presented to them at each station on the route throughout the hallways of the school.
“Even though they know their lives aren’t really in danger, they still get incredibly flustered,” said Sara Cox, a teacher and one of the activity organizers. “It’s a nerve-wracking thing. But having an interactive exercise like this raises the level of understanding about what it was like in those days.”
Parent volunteers flexed their acting muscles by portraying slave catchers and traders and abolitionists offering safe havens. Saboteurs ambushed the groups, forcing them to spell simple words or sign their names on dry erase boards to prove they could read and write, an indicator that they were free men and women. Or the villains took food ration tickets as bribes.
Once the teams successfully followed directions to reach Canada, they were greeted warmly and given a certificate issued by the Canadian government. It read “You are no longer enslaved! You are now free!” and had spaces for their slave name (a real first name plus the teacher, or master’s, last name) and new chosen name to be written.
“There’s a lot of pressure to get through to the end,” said fourth-grader Jordan Karow, a newly freed man. “The scary thing was trying to get our stories straight so we didn’t blow our cover. And we were really worried when our friend got caught ’cause we weren’t sure if we should leave him behind or not. Now we know how the slaves felt.”
Although the intent was to historically re-create the obstacles and fears of the time, students were snapped back to reality with a Capri Sun and cupcake — their reward for making the treacherous journey.
“They were intrigued by the whole idea,” said Jennifer Sezonov, a parent volunteer and Promised Land greeter. “We took my kids out of school to go to Florida and visit their grandparents. All we kept hearing was, ‘We’ll be back in time for me to go to Escape Day, won’t we?’ They were just so fascinated by the prospect of getting a firsthand taste of what it was like back then.”