Roll, Jordan,
Roll:
Thoughts on
12 Years A Slave

By: Kate Rhodes

I have sung these words many times. “On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye to Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.” The chorus looks to a place of rest where injustice no longer dwells; a place where fear is no more and freedom exists forever in the presence of God. Though I know the chorus well, I will never fully understand the context of slavery in which the song was sung in the recent movie, 12 Years a Slave. Many men and women cast their eyes towards Canaan with a conviction I may never know on this side of the river.

12 Years a Slave is based upon a true account of Solomon Northup’s life as a slave in the American South.  In a scene in the film, Northup and fellow slaves gather around the grave of another worker who died while laboring for his master in the heat of the day. His life on earth ended in despair as if he was a bug to be squashed. Yet, hope rang in the voices of those who sang over the deceased. How is it possible that those who were abused, tortured and tormented could sing a song with hope? They knew this existence was not the full story. In the film, we begin to see where these ill-fated men and women found hope and assurance. “Roll, Jordan, roll; roll, Jordan roll; my soul arise in heaven, Lord, for to hear when Jordan roll.” They looked to Canaan, a land of freedom that lies beyond the Jordan.

Northup urges other slaves throughout the movie not to give into despair. Why wouldn’t he despair in such dire circumstances? Northup knew his true identity was as a free man, and he longed to be reunited with his family. Whether his life on earth would end in that reality or not, it was a vision of reality that motivated him not to give into despair. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who also fought against oppression and injustice, said “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

Though modern America has gotten to see further in history than Northup, we still face the wilderness of injustice every day. As we face our homeless neighbor, the aborted child, and women sold into the sex trade, we know that there is more to the story. Jesus led the way through to Jordan to Canaan. He took on grave injustice in order to invite us into a place of eternal justice. Because God has promised us a day when all will be made new, we can press forward with hope just as Northup pressed forward with steadfast conviction that he was truly a free man.

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