First published 2019
William Still operates as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, the secret network that helps enslaved people reach freedom. He assists nearly eight hundred individuals in their dangerous journeys north while carefully documenting each case. Still collects letters from escapees, writes biographical sketches of those he helps, keeps arrival memos, and preserves ransom notes demanding their return. His records capture the ingenuity required to outwit slavecatchers and the courage needed to leave everything behind. The documents reveal how ordinary people built an extraordinary resistance movement. Each story shows the creativity enslaved people used to break their chains and the determination that carried them through mortal danger. Still transforms individual acts of defiance into a collective archive. His meticulous record keeping creates a testament to human resilience and the power people possess to challenge oppressive systems.
Genres: biography, history, civil-war, 20th-century, african-american, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resistance
Setting: North
Period: 19th-Century
384 pages · Hardcover · The Modern Library
Content warnings: slavery