Sometimes when people are under a lot of pressure, it is only when they are in a good mood that it seems. And that phrase could not have been applied to those who used the Underground Railroad in the 19th century when slavery was still the law of the land in America.
The Underground Railroad was the means by which tens of thousands of slaves were able to escape their oppressors and head north to free countries and the opportunity for freedom. It was so secretive that even talking about it would have resulted in a harsher punishment. But even worse, if it were found by those who would stop slaves in finding a way out, it would mean the end of hope for the thousands of Native Americans who endured the injustice of slavery.
The term "Underground Railroad" itself was a codex because the real means of transporting slaves to freedom were not the railways at all. It was a series of stops, connected by obscure lanes that ran through the countryside. The paths were crooked and unreasonable so that those who wanted to enslave the slaves would return to slavery, it would be difficult to find ways for those who wanted to be free.
There is no published Underground Railroad route. “Passengers” move from a safe home to a safer place, sheltering in homes, churches, and other places that were once known as “stations” to acquaintances. Often, the people who were driving the stations along the way did not know how long the railway line was or what the rest of the route was. They just know enough to welcome their “passengers”, do all they can with their health and care and send them along with instructions on how to get to the next station.
The methods were deceptive and difficult. Slaves striving for freedom often traveled from station to station in order to avoid public gatherings where slave hunters could find them and return them to their owners in the south. And since there was no real “railway line” to the Underground Railroad, the tracks themselves were not underground. However most of the time in safe houses, owners will protect their guests in a tunnel under the house or under a farm building.
In one such secure house in Nebraska City, Nebraska, there is a tunnel from the house to the kraal so that if the farmer feeds the needy family, it can “disappear” as soon as the slave hunters arrive without notice. There were also dug bedrooms and dirty dormitories under those houses to provide as much comfort and opportunities for relaxation and recovery as possible in a humane way under such difficult circumstances.
We cannot leave our imagination of this wonderful network without realizing the courage of those in charge of "channels" to take slaves, keep them, feed and care for their needs and help them along the way to try to do their best. return to this inhumane practice of human slavery. It is a testament to humanity that people can overcome their prejudices and reach out to strangers, endangering their homes and families in order to help depressed people in their time of greatest need.
And we must take a modest moment and look back on the dark times in American and Black history when these measures were needed. But the Underground Railroad spoke highly of the fact that real Americans will not remain silent watching their countrymen suffer unjustly. There is no doubt that tens of thousands of lives were saved by these unknown heroes who did not do so for reward or recognition. They did it because it was the right thing to do and the very thing God expected of them. It is an inspiration to all of us on this day to put our own prejudices and come together as brothers to fight against racism, bigotry and human cruelty to man because of this evil. If we do that we will know in our hearts, as those railway servants and station owners know that a better day will come.
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