1. Escape to Freedom

2. “Go Down, Moses” is an old negro spiritual.
“Exodus” is one of the most famous songs of Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley, who was connected with the Rastafari movement, an Afrocentric, monotheistic religion centered in Jamaica.
Both are inspired by the Exodus story in the Bible, which describes how, led by Moses, the Israelites escaped oppression and slavery in Egypt.
The third song, by Charles Mingus, expresses the same sentiment, though it does not directly refer to Exodus.
Go Down, Moses
Exodus
Freedom

3. Exodus
What special meaning do you think the Moses-Exodus story had for African Americans?
Does the story of the Israelites’ escape from oppression and slavery have universal appeal? Explain.