Maroons in North America
Lesson 5
Shadows of Freedom: Performance Piece
The act of escaping from the chokeholds of slavery took on many different forms, and the concept of marronage complicates our understanding of the process. Incorporating the idea of marronage into our knowledge of the past provides greater depth to our understanding of the experiences of enslaved people, and challenges us to reframe our ideas of slavery and freedom. Maroons were able to live and exercise their freedom within the confines of slavery by utilizing complex, multidimensional, and interconnected networks that helped sustain their freedom.
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To begin this lesson, students will consider why the act of escape varied and how maroons exemplify this concept. The class will then work collaboratively to compare the different types of marronage explored throughout this unit, including hinterland, borderland, and urban marronage. They will also discuss the similarities among all three spaces, which were truly self-sustaining while utilizing underground networks to resist the omnipresent institution of slavery. Students will then choose one of the individuals they learned about over the unit to create an exhibit that showcases surviving artifacts that could possibly be left by their person (their networks, relationships, how they survived, etc.). Students will present their final product to the class while the class discusses what type of marronage their exhibit represents and the networks that assisted in escape.
Learning Objectives
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demonstrate knowledge of marronage by comparing and contrasting the different types of the practice within the South
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create an exhibit with written and physical artifacts that narrate a story of marronage
Background
Maroons could be found near and far, occupying the southern terrain, blending in with their surroundings, and interacting with others in ways that challenged our previous understanding of what escape meant. By examining escape through a maroon lens, we can recognize the agency of these courageous individuals who risked their lives to live on their own terms and resist enslavement.
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All of the stories we have learned reveal the innovative strategies employed by maroons to achieve freedom, regardless of their location. For these individuals, opportunities for escape meant interacting with their environment and relying on others to remain invisible. Their efforts to reject enslavement are largely absent from official records and accounts, and for good reason - they sought to blend in, to be unknown, and to erase their enslaved identities. Maroons and their networks operated underground, and through this unit, your students have brought their stories of resistance back to life.
Lesson Toolbox
Summary of Activities
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Students will discuss the aspects of marronage learned throughout this unit: hinterland, borderland, and urban. Students will then choose a maroon to create plausible artifacts that explain their existence during escape in the South. Then, students will present their work to the class while the class discusses the underground networks their maroon utilized to sustain escape and what aspect of marronage it best demonstrates.
Duration
Preparation Time
15 minutes
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Instructional Time
55 minutes
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Advanced Preparation
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Gather and prepare Maroon Analysis Chart.
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Gather and prepare Lesson 5: Performance Piece.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should be able to:
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follow a writing process to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, style, and voice are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
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develop writing with narrative techniques
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incorporate critical pieces of relevant information from a variety of primary sources in their final product
Materials Needed
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pens or pencils
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digital projector or screen
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colored pencils or markers
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construction paper
Procedures
Vocabulary Development
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Use the Key Unit Vocabulary to introduce new words to students as you see appropriate.
Step 1
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Ask students what they learned about this unit that changed their original thinking about what escape looked like in antebellum United States. Ask them how marronage deepens their understanding of escape (networks, solidarity, blending in, staying within the South, etc.)
Step 2
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Distribute a copy of the Analysis Chart to students. Tell students that their task is to compare these different types of marronage. They will need to look at the similarities and differences between them by identifying specific characteristics of each type of marronage. Tell them they could look at where they were located, how they were organized, how they sustained themselves, and how they interacted with the outside world. Their focus should be on the location of each type of marronage. Also tell them to pay attention to where they were located and what geographical features may have influenced their formation and survival.
Step 3
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Distribute a copy of Lesson 5: Performance Piece to students. Have students think about a case they learned throughout the unit that stood out to them the most. You may need to organize copies of past runaway ads and documents from previous lessons. Ask them to think of what traces this maroon would have left behind. Tell students they will recreate some of these sources for that maroon. Review the document with the students by outlining the criteria needed for the final project. Make sure students understand differences between primary sources, secondary sources, and artifacts.
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Note: You may decide that a digital presentation (Power Point, Google Slides, Canva) would best suit your students. Feel free to adapt what you think best suits your students’ needs/capabilities.
Step 4
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Students will spend time creating a mini-exhibit that showcases possible experiences and networks maroons utilized to stretch their freedom within the South, using the criteria provided to them from the previous document. If time permits, allow students to use class time to complete their project. Otherwise, have them complete it outside of class.
Step 5 (Closure)
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When students have completed their mini-exhibit, have students present to the class. After each presentation, have students discuss the aspects of marronage that are demonstrated in the presentation.
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Note: To save time, you may choose to have students participate in a gallery walk of their presentations, having them provide feedback and notes on each presentation. You could also have them complete a guided notes chart that tracks each presentation and organizes their thinking (type of marronage, networks used, factors that made their escape more successful, were artifacts believable, etc.).