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Conner Prairie Interactive History Park: My Night as a Runaway Slave

Atticus Finch told his children not just to step into another person's shoes, but to walk around in them for a while. Empathy is valuable, but it just isn't the same as walking in those shoes. I learned this lesson the night I became a runaway slave.

I learned this lesson the night I became a runaway slave.

After spending the day learning to throw a hatchet, making candles, and playing croquet at Connor Prairie Interactive History Park, a colleague and I, plus a group of 20 students, returned after the sun bid adieu to Follow the North Star.

Following the North Star to Freedom: Runaway Slave Experience

We were split into two separate groups, debriefed, and taken out into a damp field. My group of students also included a mother and her two children, who had also made the trek to central Indiana from Chicago.

As we walked out to the field, there was a somberness to our gaits as we each silently played out our expectations for the night. We had an idea of what to expect, but ideas can only prepare a person so much. Once we reached the designated beginning point, our guide left us alone, huddled in a group, wondering what would happen next.

Within minutes, voices blast out of the darkness from every direction, yelling demands and insults. The voices solidified into men waving guns. The guns and voices then forced us to our knees. We were instructed not to look up. I did anyway. I wanted to see what was going on around me.

Big mistake.

My other mistake was my inability to squelch the nervous laughter that kept erupting from my mouth. While nothing was funny, it was difficult to conceptualize being the focus of such animosity and aggression from people I had never met, never spoken to before in my life.

After being forced to repeat phrases regarding my worth, or lack thereof, at the top of my lungs with the slick grass brushing my lips as I yelled, I shut up. I had never wanted to shut up more in my life.

When our chance for escape came, we ran. In circles. We really didn't know where to go.

Eventually we were ushered from place to place from folks sympathetic to our predicament and what we would face if caught. While those who provided us shelter may have been sympathetic to our plight, there was still the demand to keep our eyes lowered. And even those demonstrating heart by aiding our escape, still harbored hints of anger and resentment for us putting them out.

And then we got caught.

Luckily for most of the group, a deal was made for them to continue on toward freedom. The price? Me and the little girl.

Yanked from her mother and brother, she clung to my waist just as tightly as I circled her in my arms. We wondered if we would ever see the rest of our group again.

What would happen to us now? Where were we going to be taken? Should we try to run for it?

It doesn't matter that you know the night will end; for a few hours we all forgot that fact.

I'll leave whether we escaped a mystery. I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for you.

Suffice it to say, upon returning to the glare of fluorescent lights to discuss the experience, the girl and I kept our sweaty palms pressed together. Even after her mother and brother were seated nearby, we didn't let go of one another. And yes, several of us shed tears.

Conner Prairie Interactive History Park

The Conner Prairie Interactive History Park is located in Fishers, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis. Conner Prairie is a National Medal Winner for Museum and Library Services as well as a part of the Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program.

Conner Prairie holds special events and programs for all ages throughout the year including music, crafts, food, and festivals. The regular daily activities were fun as well as informative as we traveled through a variety of historical periods by crossing a covered bridge or walking down a wooded path.

Throughout the park, employees in costume maintained their roles as they answered questions, taught us how to play games, or allowed us to watch them work a loom, blow glass, or plow the fields. Even the young children maintained character, which enhanced the Conner Prairie historical experience.

Conner Prairie's Follow the North Star Program

The Follow the North Star Program at Conner Prairie takes place on Saturday evenings throughout April. This unique opportunity to truly walk, or run, in the shoes of a runaway slave is treated with respect while being as historically accurate as possible. Reservations are required to be a part of this experience.

I highly recommend experiencing this opportunity to step into our nation's history.

For one night, I experienced the rage and humiliation of being a runaway slave at Conner Prairie. While that may not sound like an ideal way to spend a Saturday evening, I would do it again. Understanding a fragment of a fragment of what makes the soul tick was a valuable and powerful experience.

While I'm glad to have been able to take off that particular pair of shoes, the memory of briefly walking around in them will forever affect the way I view the shoes of others. We just don't seem to get the chance to experience the depth of emotion or rush of adrenalin from reading books or watching films about slavery as following the north star provided for us that night.