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The Brewster Historical Society Annual Meeting presents

“Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad” Edited by Timothy Walker Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts Press, 2021)

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Professor Timothy Walker, Ph.D., will discuss his book, “The Maritime Underground Railroad.” Walker will examine how enslaved people reached their freedom by sea and what the waterborne journey looked like for many African Americans.

"Long distance, overland escapes from the deep south were virtually impossible, and nearly all documented successful escapes from the far coastal south were achieved by water,” said Walker. “Seaborne escapes were faster, safer, and less logistically complicated than attempting to run away from enslavement by land.”

Walker, who edited, “Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad” (University of Massachusetts Press, 2021). Sailing to Freedom documents hundreds of seaborne flights from enslavement, including Mary Millburn’s successful 1858 escape of Norfolk, Virginia, to Philadelphia aboard an express steamship.

“This book aims to change the way people think about the Underground Railroad; to shift the dominant narrative to include the profoundly important maritime side of the story,” said Walker.