The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts by William Still

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Welcome to Naomi's Global Book Nook. This is my very first post and I'm so excited to share my thoughts on this book. So let's get right into it shall we?

"What do you think of Slavery anyhow?"

"I think it's a great curse, and I think the Baptists in Richmond will go to the deepest hell, if there is any, for they are so wicked they will work you all day and part of the night, and wear cloaks and long faces, and try to get all the work out of you they can by telling you about Jesus Christ."

William Still was a born in 1821 to formerly enslaved parents. He went on to become an abolitionist, businessman and philanthropist.

He's commonly known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad," leading approximately 800 slaves to their freedom.

The Underground Railroad is a compilation of interviews and letters from the people he helped free from slavery. There's also legal texts throughout the book that gives a well-rounded view to what was going on during this time.

In the winter of 1852, Still and other  Philadelphia abolitionists,  formed a group called the General Vigilance Committee. He was the executive director and secretary. Together, they worked to keep records of the stories of slaves that escaped to the North.

The book was published shortly  after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. It contains stories of fear, strength, resiliency, bravery, cleverness and ultimately freedom.

MY THOUGHTS
I don't think I took into account the lengths that Black people would go to gain their freedom. Some of these narratives include: being shipped up North in a box, having a gunfight with slave holders, sleeping under a hotel for a month, men and women disguising themselves and the list goes on and on.

I did notice two recurring themes of fugitive slaves leaving their families behind and that the mistresses of the house were somehow always worse than the actual "master." I found both to be interesting. I guess because I never thought about the family aspect of the Underground Railroad. I only ever thought about it when it came to families being torn apart and sold. As for the harshness of the mistresses...we'll save that for another post (I have a book on my shelf that goes more deeply into this theme).

I'm happy to have read this book. It's been on my shelf for a while and I'm glad I put it on my 2022 reading list. It contained moving accounts of my ancestors and it really gives you the personal horror stories of slavery, that I think this nation sometimes seems to forget.