My Durham: History of the Underground Railroad

My Durham ended Black History Month with a program about the Underground Railroad. Over the course of two days the program was conducted at the Weaver Street Recreation Center and the Durham Teen Center. This program is part of a larger program, working in conjunction with the Outdoor Recreation Unit. During the program, teens had the opportunity to learn about the origins and some of the facets of the Underground Railroad.

Drawing from the book, Hidden in Plain View – A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, participants learned how freedom-seekers used encoded messages within quilt patterns to help them navigate their escape along the Underground Railroad. To make the experience real for the teens, they had the opportunity to touch and hold a replica of one of these quilts and discover the meaning behind each pattern. The teens also learned about the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman. Teens were able to view a picture by the artist, Jacob Lawrence depicting Harriet Tubman leading freedom seekers at night, using the North Star as a guide. Additionally, teens acquired knowledge about the daring escape of Henry “Box” Brown, whom mailed himself to freedom from Virginia to Pennsylvania. A replica of the wooden crate was created, so the teens could actual view the dimensions of the wooden crate that Henry “Box” Brown used to mail himself to freedom.

One of the most intriguing part of the program was having participants sample grilled and fried frog legs. Freedom- seekers often traveled through swamp and wetlands and had to eat foods that were available. One of those food sources would have been frogs, which is why we decided on serving frog legs. Most of the teens at least tried the frog legs and stated, ‘it tasted like chicken.”

Other components of the program will consist of star navigation, which ties in directly with freedom- seekers using the Big Dipper and North Star, to make their way towards freedom; Learning outdoor skills like canoeing, setting up tents, and compass reading. It is our hope that once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, we will be able to take several teens to Washington, NC to visit the Underground Railroad Museum and hike along the Underground Railroad Trail.

Sharing the history of the Underground Railroad is especially relevant as racial and social justice protests continue to take place across our nation. The Underground Railroad is an early chapter in the long struggle which lives on in today’s Black Lives Matter movement. By learning about the movement’s past as they experience it presently, our youth develop a unique perspective of both the harsh difficulties and the incredible victories of the African American experience throughout American history.