Perilous Lost: A Misunderstanding of the Underground Railroad
Last year, I came across an article in The New Yorker published in 2016, The Perilous Lure of the Underground Railroad, that I never had seen. I did see an Op-Ed with a similar theme in the New York Times that year, however. Both claim the activities of the Underground Railroad were greatly exaggerated. I sent in a rebuttal to the NYT, but it was never published.
This New Yorker article was longer and more in depth and argued its case more cleverly and forcefully. It also included facts, which based on my study are dubious.
I have been lobbying against the idea that the UGRR was more legend than fact for nearly two decades and this article was another argument ignoring the facts.
So what is the legend?
That an organized group of those committed to end slavery set up a vast network that regulated the passage of fugitive slaves (freedom seekers is the politically correct term) to the Promised Land of Canada.
What are the facts?
A group of those committed to end slavery established a vast, sometimes haphazard and sometimes organized network, that facilitated the passage of freedom seekers to the Promised Land.
Yet, despite all the evidence that the UGRR was real, debunkers want to turn it…
