Скачать или смотреть HENRY BOX BROWN

In May 2022, Afro Blue had the distinct honor of being asked by the B&O Railroad Museum to record the first ever song telling the story of Henry Box Brown for their Freedom Seekers Exhibit. Brown was a slave who escaped to freedom by express shipping himself in a wooden box for 27 hours from Richmond, VA to Philadelphia, PA. He had decided on an “arrival hymn” in advance, should he survive the journey. His hymn became known as “Escape From Slavery”, which he wrote from his own narrative in third person. He set the hymn to the tune of Stephen Foster’s “Uncle Ned”, a popular minstrel song at the time. Brown began singing this hymn while touring the country as an antislavery speaker and performer until the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 forced him to move to England, where he continued to tour with a moving abolitionist panorama.

Enjoy this music video of Afro Blue 2023 singing our arrangement of “Henry Box Brown” LIVE at the B&O Railroad Museum!