As part of the East Brandywine Township Historical Commission Speakers Series, a program about the Underground Railroad will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3:30 p.m. at the East Brandywine Township Building, 1214 Horseshoe Pike, Downingtown. The program, titled "Angel at Philadelphia: William Still and the Underground Railroad," will be presented by Dr. William Kashatus.
Between 1830 and 1863, nearly 9,000 runaway slaves escaped to freedom using southeastern Pennsylvania's Underground Railroad, a clandestine network of abolitionists. William Still, a free black Philadelphian, directed this so-called "Eastern Line," maintaining an extensive network of communication with those who opened their homes to fugitives, providing food, shelter, and clothing. Still also interviewed every one of the nearly 1,000 runaways who came under his care.
The talk will examine the history and operation of the Underground Railroad's Eastern Line, as well as the findings of Kashatus' recent statistical study of the 995 runaways Still interviewed, which challenges the existing historiography of the Underground Railroad.
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