Living History Program - Survival on the Underground Railroad
via Camp Joy Facebook
Another highly anticipated event of the Camp Joy Experience is the Living History Program. Students participate in "Survival on the Underground Railroad", an interactive play that transports students back to the days of slavery. Rather than students sitting and watching a historical reenactment, each student becomes an active member of the play, assuming the role of a slave in the 1800s. Students are encouraged to create characteristics for their slave character, which will be used during the play. While the element of surprise is crucial to the success of the play, the whole premise of the Living History Program is that students are traveling to the north as slaves to find freedom. Along the way, they meet six historically-based characters representative of that era of US History. The six characters represent both pro- and anti-slavery people, including a Quaker, abolitionist, John Brown follower, a bounty hunter, an indentured servant, and a box slave who mailed themself to freedom. Many portions of this experience are very loud and intense, with a lot of yelling and screaming, as well as the use of prop weapons (which are never aimed at or handled by students). Again, just like during the ropes course, this experience might take students out of their comfort zone. As such, students have the opportunity to exercise Camp Joy's "Challenge by Choice" philosophy and decide on their level of participation. The Camp Joy staff use bandanas as a way of knowing what students are participating, and those who need to step out of the experience. All students wear a white bandanna on their head, signaling that they are currently an active participant in the play. At any time, a student can lower their bandanna to their neck, which will signal to the camp staff that they have become an "invisible" bystander, watching the action, rather than directly participating.