Coded Spirituals

Well-known Negro Spirituals of the mid-1800s are much more complex than they first appear.

Many of the well-known Negro Spirituals popular in the United States during the mid-1800s are much more complex than they first appear. Historians of the Underground Railroad refer to them as "Coded Spirituals". What that means is that the words actually have two meanings; one that is immediately apparent and one that's hidden just below the surface.

AIR DATE 2/5/12

Slavery and Freedom

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Coded Spirituals

Origin of the name Underground Railroad

Punishment

William Still's Place in History

Fugitive Slave Act

Sydney Still's Run for Freedom

Epilogue

Freedom's Land

The Fugitive Slave Act Classroom Segment

Origin of the name Underground Railroad

Punishment

About Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

This program tells the story of William Still, one of the most important yet unheralded individuals of the Underground Railroad. The film details the accounts of black abolitionists, who had everything at stake as they helped fugitives follow the North Star to Canada.

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