Underground Railroad: The William Still Story (2012)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2012.

 

Here is some basic information about it:

 

** Written, produced and directed by Laine Drewery

** Narrated by Sean Francis

** Run time: 55 minutes

 

This film is the story of the African American abolitionist William Still (1821-1902), who is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”

 

Over a period of 14 years, he helped about 800 slaves to their freedom. 

 

At first, slaves from the South were free once they reached the North. 

 

However, after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, it was not enough for former slaves to reach the North. Now they had to go further north, all the way to Canada, in order to be safe.

 

Key moments in William Still’s life are re-enacted in the film. Dion Johnstone plays William Still. All words spoken by the actor are taken from the writings of William Still.

 

Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in the order of appearance):

 

** Fergus Bordewich, author and journalist

** James Horton, professor emeritus, George Washington University

** Velma Maria Thomas, author and historian

** Spencer Crew, professor, George Mason University, Virginia

** Rosemary Sadlier, president, Ontario Black History Society

** Gloria Still, Still family historian

** Sarah Ducksworth, professor, Kean University, New Jersey

** Karolyn Smardz Frost, York University, Toronto

** Bryan Prince, author and historian

** Charles Blockson, author and historian

 

As pointed out in the film, secrecy was of the utmost importance for the Underground Railroad. Often the runaway slaves did not know the real names of the conductors who helped them, and vice versa.

 

However, sometimes the rule was broken. William Still kept records of the slaves he helped to freedom. They were updated whenever necessary, and he always kept them in a secret place. They were never discovered by the authorities.

 

In 1865, when the Civil War ended, slavery was abolished in the US. Seven years later, in 1872, the Anti-Slavery Society formally decided that the records could be published without any risk to the persons who were named in them.

 

The benefit of this decision is, as one witness explains, that the runaway slaves are no longer a faceless and nameless mass of people on the run. We know who they are; their stories are told and remembered for posterity because of William Still’s records.

 

A new selection of reports from his original book was published in 2007 edited by Ian Frederick Finseth, who has also written an introduction to the volume:

 

The Underground Railroad: 

Authentic Narratives and 

First-Hand Accounts

 

In this film, we learn that William Still for a while worked together with the famous African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1822-1913). 

 

We also learn about some of the more remarkable cases in which he was involved.

 

One case is the slave who escaped from the South by having himself mailed to the North in a box. His name is Henry “Box” Brown. He escaped in 1849. It was a clever trick, but once it was reported by the press, it could not be used by other slaves who were looking for freedom.

 

Another case that was widely covered by the press concerns Jane Johnson and her master John Hill Wheeler. In 1855 John Hill Wheeler travelled to Philadelphia. He brought one of his slaves Jane Johnson with him, not realising the implications of the fact that Philadelphia was a free city: the slave could walk away from him, if she so desired.

 

Had she been a runaway slave, she could have been caught and brought back to her master, but since the master had brought her to Philadelphia, she had the right to choose freedom, which she did, with the help of William Still.

 

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 78 per cent. I understand the positive rating and I agree with it.

 

Underground Railroad is an excellent biography of William Still. Frequent quotes from his writings give the film an air of authenticity and the witnesses who are interviewed explain his significance for the abolition movement and for American history

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. For information about the Underground Railroad, see the following book:

 

Gateway to Freedom: 

The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad 

by Eric Foner (2015) (2016)

 

PS # 2. For information about Harriet Tubman, see the following books:

 

** Bound for the Promised Land: 

Harriet Tubman, 

Portrait of an American Hero 

by Kate Clifford Larson (2003)

 

** Harriet Tubman: 

The Road to Freedom 

by Catherine Clinton (2004) (2005)

 

*****