Freedom!
Heard about this game by MECC (the maker of Oregon Trail).
From Wikipedia :
Freedom! was an educational computer game developed by MECC. The player assumed the role of a runaway slave in the Antebellum Period of American history who was trying to reach the North through the Underground Railroad. The game met a mixed reception; some educators found it valuable while others found it racially offensive due to its use of stereotyped speech by slave characters.
In 1993, a group of offended parents sued a school which had provided the game to students and MECC, the developer. The game was pulled off the market as a result.
Players choose one of two characters. The male character was typically illiterate; written signs and notes appeared onscreen as indecipherable symbols. The male character receives a pass from his slavemaster in order to escape to the North. The female character is sometimes able to read and write, and is able to forge a pass in order to run, in addition to asking for a pass. Players attempt to avoid slavecatchers, who may or may not perceive their character’s pass as legitimate.
I found a copy of the game here and played a bit.
Here are some screenshots. A slave catcher found me but I got away by by knocking him unconscious.
The next time they caught up with me, I wasn’t so lucky :
For. real. and. for. true.
ETA : Gameplay Walkthrough
