Discovering The Story of Life of Slave Jimmy

The year was 1842 in Glendora, Mississippi; there lived a young boy named Jimmy. At the age of 13 Jimmy was sold and separated from his father. He was sold to William C. Ford. Ever since that day Massa Ford hasn’t let him go. Jimmy wasn’t an ordinary slave though, he was taught to read by his father at the age 10, but he never let Massa Ford know that. He was young and the fastest cotton picker on the plantation. He picked over 300 bushels of cotton. As the days and years go by Jimmy always wondered what life was like outside this plantation. His favorite’s days were when the old folks sang old Negro spirituals in the fields. “Swing low, Sweet Chariot, Coming’ for to carry me home, I looked over Jordan and what did I see? A band of coming after me.” Jimmy always wondered what those Negro spirituals meant, and he will soon find out.

One day Jimmy asked one of the older slaves Abraham “why yall always sang them Negro spirituals what do they mean” so Abraham begin to explain to Jimmy what the songs mean in particular swing low sweet chariot”. Young boy see everything we sang is just coded for a way for us to get from the white man said Abraham. When we sang swing low that means “come into the slaveholding states” and sweet chariot comin' for to carry me home that just means the "Underground Railroad Come to take me to freedom

In the North or in Canada”. Jimmy was amazed by the meaning and wonder was it all true. Jimmy told Abraham “one day Ima be free man.” Days and days Jimmy started to sing the Negro spiritual swing low sweet chariot remembering word for word, imagining what if he was to be free one day. Jimmy premeditate his escape route for nights. At night before Massa Ford goes to sleep he comes around to check on the slaves to make sure no one had escape, or they not up learning anything. One-night Massa came

Around on his nightly checkups, he peeped around and seen that everyone was sleep and sound. Everyone pretended to be asleep including Jimmy. This night Jimmy planned his escape plan, mapped everything out while humming his hymn. Jimmy needed help making sure he wouldn’t get caught. So he asked Abraham can he provide a distraction while he made a run for the woods. Abraham as a bit reluctant at first but he eventually gave into Jimmy’s begging and said he would help.

Abraham was going to set something valuable on fire it could be the cotton fields or the staple with the animals something that would keep them concerned with putting out the valuable stuff first then worry about the runaway slaves. The code for Jimmy to make the escaped was “steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus” used to let him know an escaped attempt was coming. Jimmy had a lot to remember. It was dark and therefore, he couldn’t see the stars. He looked at a tree in saw moss on the north Side and remembered, “The dead trees will show you the way” (meaning moss grows on the north side of a dead tree when you can't see the stars look at the trees). While running he hears dogs and looks he sees a river bank and remembers “The river bank makes a mighty good road” (the dogs can’t track his scent through the water) in he goes in and comes out the same tracks to through them off. Jimmy had found the river of Jordan (the Mississippi river or Ohio River) where the angels (group of Underground

Railroad workers) were he went to then. He went to the group in said “a friend of a friend sent me” (a code used when they travel alone to say he was sent by people from the underground).

While running through the forest he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Duh-duh, duh-dun. Jimmy could feel the hairs on his arms stand up to attention, as a militia of chills march down his spine. The only thing racing through his mind is this real? Am I free? The beating gets louder in his chest. My feet are hurting said Jimmy. Come on son we almost there said one of the other slaves. Walking for miles they finally reached a big sign that’s says Welcome to Michigan. Jimmy and the either slaves couldn’t believe it. A new life. A new start. Jimmy was finally free and he owed it all to Abraham.

Traveling through the riverbanks trying to get up north leaving his slave life in the south, Jimmy decided to stay in Michigan. As a 14 year old being on his own, he was smart enough to get where he needed to be and survive on his own. As Jimmy learned through Abraham what the Negro spirituals meant, leaving the south became easier. From all the hard work and dedication outside of working in the cotton field in Mississippi, Jimmy received an opportunity to work in the factory in the city of Detroit, Michigan. As weeks went by working in the factory, Jimmy heard a man screaming from catching his finger in one of the machines. As the man started shouting curse words, Jimmy began to recognize the voice. Jimmy started to follow the direction of where the voice was coming from, and he seen a familiar face and it was Abraham.