Decoder Ring: The Forgotten Video Game About Slavery

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its
educational hit The Oregon Trail released another
simulation-style game to school districts across the
country. Freedom! took kids on a journey along the
Underground Railroad, becoming the first American software program
to use slavery as its subject matter. Less than four months later,
it was pulled from the market. In this episode, we revisit this
well-intentioned, but flawed foray into historical trauma that
serves as a reminder that teaching Black history in America has
always been fraught. We hear from Julian Lucas, Mike
Palmquist, Rich Bergeron, Josh Bergeron, Kamau Kambui,
Yamro Kambui Fields, Halim Fields, Mawusi Kambui Pierre, Nanyamka
Salley, John Ojanen, Darrolyn Sharp, Byron Sharp, and Dean Kephart.
This episode was written by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is produced
by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. This episode was also produced
by Benjamin Frisch, and edited by Erica Morrison. Derek John is
executive producer. Joel Meyer is senior editor-producer and
Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. We’re grateful to
Julian Lucas for his expertise, reporting, and generosity, without
which this episode would not have been possible. His New
Yorker article, “Can Slavery Reenactments Set Us Free?,”
revisits the Freedom! story as part of an exploration of
the live Underground Railroad re-enactments that Kamau Kambui
pioneered. Thank you to Jesse Fuchs for suggesting this topic.
Thanks also to Coventry Cowens, Brigitte Fielder, Bob Whitaker,
Alan Whisman, Wayne Studer, Alicia Montgomery, Rebecca Onion, Luke
Winkie, and Kamau Kambui’s children: Yamro Kambui Fields, Halim
Fields, Mawusi Kambui Pierre, Nanyamka Salley, and Kamau Sababu
Kambui Jr. If you haven’t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed
in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even
better, tell your friends. If you’re a fan of the show, please sign
up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring without
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also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to
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