Enslaved to America
By Geneva Roberts
The screaming of our neighbors, the Turners, woke me from a deep sleep. Mrs. Turner’s pleads of mercy struck fear into my heart. They are here, I thought to myself. I knew that our door would be the next one to be banged in. Our home that I had lived in for thirteen years of my life, with my dear family was about to be destroyed.
Three large, grungy men burst in through our door. Father’s gasp could be heard as he was roughly dragged out of bed. Toby, my brother, ran to the door. He was trying to dodge past the men.
"Get back here you dark boy!" the largest man yelled. Toby didn’t hear another thing. He was hit over the head by the man’s arm, knocking him into unconsciousness. Mother pleaded on her knees that they spare her children. I still remember the hateful look that man gave her as he punched her in the jaw. She crumpled over in pain. Our family was placed into chains—cold chains. By gunpoint, along with the Turners and five other families near us, we were ordered to march down the long dusty road of our African village. Father held Toby, while I helped mother limp along. The ship we were forced on to, I still remember, was so small and rickety I could not even imagine it making it for a couple of minutes in that boat. Its musty, urine-smelling order still haunts me today. Jake Turner, the neighbor my age, quietly came over to us. He knelt down and gently dabbed my mother’s sore, bleeding lips.
The next 23 days are a blur. We were beaten many times, ordered to row and starved continually. Five of our neighbors could not take this treatment. They died on our travels and were cast with no care overboard, to lie forever in the sea. Just when it seemed like we could not go on for another day, we saw land ahead. A momentary burst of joy caught onto all of us. Smelly, hungry and weary we were forced off from the ship. I do not remember any good-byes. I did not know I would never see my Father and brother again and that I would only be with my mother for a little bit longer.
I heard "Sold!" and before I knew it, a rough white man was dragging off Mother and me with a whip. He shoved us, along with Jake Turner and two other older women into the back of his wooden wagon. The horse began to trot down the road. Mother began to cry.
It was seven years later, before I experienced any sort of freedom again. Between that time I watched my mother beaten to the point that she died in my arms three days later. I was beaten continually and spit upon almost every day. Jake, my two African neighbors and I were so thankful that in the evenings, we could return to the unfurnished cabin for a few hours and retreat for some rest. There, with about 10 other slaves, we would sing African spiritual songs, reminding us of our home and most of all, of our Sovereign Lord. Jake was sold for two horses, three years after we became slaves.
I remember specifically, on August 3, 1856 I tripped over a twig while I was collecting tobacco leaves in the fields. My slave master beat me continually for dumping a basket of leaves. That evening, feeling sore and defeated, I went for a quick walk around our cabin. When I first ran into her, I am so thankful I suppressed my scream of fear. She appeared to be a rough, black woman, but she had a pure gentle smile. She motioned me to follow her. For some reason, I felt compelled to obey her. She told me to quietly get some warm cloths and follow her. This was the start of a three-month journey through what many called, the Underground Railroad. This was the road to freedom. We hid from dogs, battled the cold nights, followed the North Star and were helped by a number of brave, white citizens. Food was scarce and sickness was common, but if it meant freedom, for me it was worth it all.
On a cold November evening, around 11:30 in the evening, we crossed the line into freedom. We were in Pennsylvania. We were out of the South!
To me, this was the most overwhelming feeling that I had ever experienced. After seven years of slavery, of humiliation, of being beaten and owned, I was free. We wearily walked up to the house that we would stay in that evening. When I heard a familiar voice say, "Harriet, how wonderful it is to see you. We have been praying for all of your safety. Come in." my look of shock, joy and self-consciousness I am sure, could not be hidden. There stood Jake, with the door opened to let in the newest run away slaves into his home. He was not expecting to see me there. When he saw me though, he opened up his arms and I fell into them with joy. I was entering a land that I did not know, but God provided me with a man that knew me.
Jake and I were married soon after that. We helped Harriet Tubman and her many groups of runaway slaves enter into the "Promise Land." There were so many people that did not go through our railroad and died as slaves, but for the ones that we helped, Jake and I will be the first ones to say that it was worth every risk that we took to save the few.
Sources:
1. Readings About Famous Aftican Americans. Peter Ketchum, Hayes School Publishing Co., Inc., 1992
2. My own knowledge
3. America Yesterday and Today. Scott Foresman and Company Social Studies. 1988
Props:
- whip
- ragged cloths
- pictures of the south
- tobacco leaves
- map
Outline
- Awaken during the night
- Dragged off to a ship
- Jake, Mother and I sold
- Never saw Toby and Father again
- Mother’s death
- Tripping and being beaten
- Escaping through the Underground Railroad.
- Meeting and marrying Jake
- Helping Harriet Tubman with other slaves escaping
Questions
- What woke the author up in Africa?
- In Africa, what happened to her mother? To her brother?
- What was the ship like that they rode on?
- Who was she sold with?
- What did the slaves do in the evenings after they worked all day?
- When did Jake get sold?
- How did she run into Harriet Tubman?
- How long was their journey to the North?
- Who did the author run into in Pennsylvania?
- What did they do after they were married?
- What do you think the life was like for a black person in America?
- Do you think that even today people are prejudice towards black people? Why or why not?
Answers:
- The neighbor’s screams woke her up.
- Her mother and brother were both hit and punched.
- The ship was small and smelled like urine.
- She was sold with her mother, Jake and two African neighbors.
- They sang spiritual songs.
- Three years after they entered slavery.
- She was walking around outside one evening.
- Three months
- Jake Turner
- Helped Harriet Tubman with escaping slaves.
- Life was probably scary and frustrating. The black people were probably very humiliated and felt inferior.
- I think that although it is not even as bad as it used to be, there are places (especially in the south) where the black people are still treated as inferiors. I think this is done, because many white peoples great grandparents were that way and it has been passed down from generation to generation.