On My Way to Freedom Land: A Collective Series of Collages and Photographs on the Negro Spirituals of the Underground Railroad Movement

By Obiora N Anekwe

The lives of enslaved black North Americans were filled with pain and suffering. In order to cope with the harsh realities of living in enslavement, the words of the Negro Spiritual provided solace. But more significantly, the themes found in the Negro Spiritual proved over time to be the very road map that would lead people to freedom. On My Way to Freedom Land: A Collective Series of Collages and Photographs on the Negro Spirituals of the Underground Railroad Movement showcases forty-three Negro Spirituals through visual interpretations documented through collage and photography. Dr. Obiora N. Anekwe created these images over a three-year period to preserve the Negro Spiritual for generations to come. His advocative spirit to keep the stories of his ancestors alive is evident through this historic and vivid book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984569103

Obiora N Anekwe

Obiora N. Anekwe is a writer, visual artist, bioethicist, counselor, and teacher. To date, he has authored and co-authored 15 books. He was born in Tuskegee Institute, Alabama on the campus of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital. Dr. Anekwe was reared in Lagos, Nigeria and Columbus, Georgia. He is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University (B.A., mass media arts with honors), Tuskegee University (M.Ed., counseling and student development with honors), Auburn University (Ed.D., educational leadership with honors), Columbia University in the City of New York (M.S., bioethics with high honors and distinction), and Pace University (M.S.T., special education with honors). Dr. Anekwe is a tenured public school special education teacher who resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, Rev. Alexis S. Anekwe, and their son, Amari O. Anekwe.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Obiora N. Anekwe. 788134

ISBN:   Softcover    978-1-9845-6911-0

             Hardcover   978-1-9845-6912-7

             EBook         978-1-9845-6910-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Cover Artwork: Obiora N. Anekwe

Author’s Photograph: Alexis S. Anekwe

Rev. date: 01/31/2019

ON MY WAY TO FREEDOM LAND

A Collective Series of Collages and Photographs on the Negro Spirituals of the Underground Railroad Movement

OBIORA N. ANEKWE

M.Ed., Ed.D., M.S. Bioethics, M.S.T., SARSM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview

All God’s Chillun Got Wings

Bound for Canaan Land

Captain Says Hurry

Captain, O Captain

Changed Mah Name

City Calles Heaven

Dey Crucified My Lord

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel

Give Me Your Hand

Glory, Glory Hallelujah

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Going Home

Going Back With Jesus

Great Day: Images 1, 2, 3, and 4

Hard Trials

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

I Got A Home in That Rock

I’m A-Rollin

I’m So Glad There’s No Dying There

I Went Down in the Valley

Is There Anybody Here

John Brown’s Body

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

Let the Church Roll On

My Way’s Cloudy

Plenty Good Room

Rise, Shine, For Thy Light Is A-Comin’

Screw This Cotton

Show Me the Way

Sit Down Servant, Sit Down

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Tell All the World, John

The Sun Mows Down

Tryin’ to Cross the Red Sea

Wade in the Water

We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder

You’re My Brother So Give Me Your Han’

OVERVIEW

The history of black America is intertwined within the Negro Spiritual. It is not only a story of a people, but the story of America. With all of its faults and glory, the voice and story of America can still be heard in the American Negro Spiritual. In 2016, I began my journey of documenting the music known as the Negro Spirituals. But my understanding of this precious and historic form of music began in the church, hearing them in my church choir. When I went to college, I heard the Negro Spirituals again in chapel both