September is International Underground Railroad Month. Experts say the recognition is of particular importance to New York, where two of the liberation movement’s most famous supporters lived and operated.
New York was a key place for Frederick Douglas, who spent 25 years in Rochester, and Harriet Tubman, who lived in Auburn, New York for more than 50 years.
Douglas and Tubman were important leaders, but discussing the Underground Railroad is more than just those in the history books, said Community Engagement Director Saladin Allah of the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center.
“There are always people who are nameless, who are faceless, whose work was just as significantly important as a Harriet Tubman as a Frederick Douglass, but we may not know their names," he said. "I always start there, because it's important to strive to uncover many of those other people.”
Many people also don’t realize how impactful the area was to the movement, said Visual Information Specialist Shannon Walsh of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park.
“There are a lot of reasons why New York was so important. One, of course, was the connection to Canada via Niagara Falls. But also, this was an area where there was a lot of social change and a lot of progressive movements that cropped up in the first half of the 19th Century.”
Some estimates are that more than 100,000 people escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad, according to online records from historian Kim Warren, and many settled in Southern Ontario.
It’s important to recognize the Underground Railroad’s significance beyond just a month, but also see the opportunity for increased discussion, Allah said.
"People who hear this are prompted to do their own investigations into their own history. I think one of the things that divide people is the fact that we may not know our similar stories," he said. "Here at the Underground Railroad Heritage Center, we talk about the history of the Underground Railroad, but the emphasis on freedom seekers, people who are seeking freedom, and that is something that we can all universally relate to."
