American History

Roots  of  Resistance   A  Story  of  Underground  Railroad  is a  film  that  traces  a  part  of  the  history  of  African  American  resistance  against  the  institution  of  slavery  in  America.  The  film  sketches  how  the  African  American  slaves  and  ex-slaves  organized  themselves  in  their  attempt  to  escape  from  the  bonds  of  slavery  to free states  and  to  Canada.  They  were  assisted  in  their  endeavor  by  other  free  African  Americans  and  white  abolitionists.  The  underground  railroad  was  the  name  given  to  the  routes  that  were  used  to  escape  by  the  African  American  slaves.  Although  the  underground  railroad  had  been  in  existence  since  the  early  19th  century,  it  became  prominent  in  the  decade  extending  from  1850  to  1860.
       
The  film,  which  was  released  in  1989,  was  produced  and  directed  by  Orlando  Bagwell  as  part  of  the  PBS  series  -  American  Experience.  As  one  of  the  landmark  events  of  American  history  in  a  pre-Civil  War  setting,  the  story  of  the  underground  railroad  is  portrayed  with  precision  by  Bagwell.  The  film  takes  the  viewer  through  the  life  and  times  of  the  African  American  slaves  in  their  effort  towards  justice  and  their  journey  towards  freedom.
       
The  film  shows  how  the  underground  railroad  operated  as  a  clandestine  network  of  roads  that  were  used  as  escape  routes.  In  their  road  to  freedom,  the  African  American  slaves  were  given  a  lot  of  help  and  support  by  their  fellow  African  Americans,  both  freed  and  ex-slaves  and  also  abolitionists  and  sympathizers  who  provided  their  homes  as  shelters  to  the  fleeing  slaves.  Often  the  homes  of  the  people  who  assisted   the  slaves  became  temporary  stations  for  the  slaves  during  their  journey.
     
In  the  film,  Bagwell  highlights  how  the  slaves  employed  various  means  of  resistance  against  their  oppression.  From  being  absent  for  work  to  non-cooperation  at  work  to  hosting  and  participating  in  secret  meetings,  these  slaves  inspired  themselves  to  dislodge  the  injustice  that  was  being  done  to  them.  By  portraying  their  struggle,  the  film  also  makes  viewers  aware  of  the  scale  of  oppression  that  the  slaves  were  revolting  against  and  what  it  was  like  to  be  a  part  of  the  revolutionary  process.  While  some  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  underground  railroad  was  built  by  the  abolitionists  and  freed  slaves,  others  maintain  that  although  abolitionists  and  freed  slaves  helped  the  slaves,  it  was  the  slaves  themselves  who  were  responsible  for  stirring  the  resistance  fervour  and  for  their  final  escape.
       
That  the  film  is  well  researched,  is  established  by  the  fact  that  Bagwell  has  interspersed  his  documentary  with  commentaries  by  various  historians  as  well as  interviews  of  the  descendants  of  both  the  slave-owners  and  the  slaves  themselves.  Roots  to  Resistance  falls  in  the  category  of  those  films  that  are  themselves  the  products  of  great  inspiration  and  also  have  the  power  to  enthrall and  inspire  the  audience.