Then I'll Be Free To Travel Home, a collection of audio and video documentaries and companion learning series, provides an unique opportunity for exploring a relatively unknown portion of American history. This documentary features the role of Blacks, both free and slave, in the settlement and development of Northern Colonies, especially New Amsterdam in the early 1600s. It focuses on the impact of their contributions during their rise from enslavement to freedom and independence. The project follows the journey from the early 1600s to the advent of the Civil War. Designed from its outset as a learning tool, the documentary involves students and teachers on the path of discovery and documentation. The project uses the latest technologies and teaching techniques to capture the interest of students and adults in solid research on a missing part of the American heritage.

The History of America is a work in progress. The discovery of the Burial Ground creates the opportunity to add a new and compelling dimension to World history in general and American history in particular. The exploration explodes the myths of American Slavery being just on Southern plantations, and of Blacks as simply dependent indentured servants and chattel slaves. As we examine Northern slavery through those lives uncovered in the Burial Ground, we become involved in a history rich in community, industriousness and stability. We see that this was the hallmark and legacy of the early African American settlers and those who followed in their footsteps.

"The culture of these ancestors come alive for those who journey on the documentary through the art, music, dance, folklore and storytelling."

The historical lessons are many; the applications from the study, like the fabric of America, are rich and diverse. Then I'll Be Free To Travel Home combines the lessons of this early period in American history with solid curriculum links in the sciences, arts, literature, research, technology, and social sciences. The culture of these ancestors come alive for those who journey on the documentary through the art, music, dance, folklore and storytelling. Rituals and religious values link us to the social sciences. Archaeologists, anthropologists, and forensic scientists all play a vital role in reconstructing the lives and times of those early African Americans. What we see is the emergence of a culture solid and distinct in its traditions, yet intricately linked to the Native American, Dutch, and English inhabitants with whom the early Africans interacted.

The coupling of this discovery with modern technology assures that as we document how these early Americans lived and interacted, what customs they held and melded, and how they died and were buried, all Americans will add to the fabric of their history. The project enables us to enter into the study as the actual work is being done, to restructure the story, to solve the puzzle, and to learn along with the scientists, the full story of our early history, and the true legacy of those early African Americans who are now truly free to travel home.

High School and College students in the New York Metropolitan area have already benefited from participation in the initial research/production phases of the documentary project. We plan to have students at all levels (nationally and internationally) participate and benefit in the distribution (online distance learning) aspects of the project.

VHS copies of the 2-part video special Then I'll Be Free To Travel Home can be obtained by emailing us at EVT Educational Productions, or calling us at 212.281.2456 (ph/fax).