August, 17, 8 p.m.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is the story of a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America's Civil War. William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario.

The documentary blends stories, characters, and historical context with evocative reenactments and sometimes shocking, often touching, accounts from the day. The predominant “voices” in the program are those of William Still and a selection of freedom seekers whose stories helped define the era.

The first generation of his family born free, abolitionist and historian William Still (1821-1902) was determined to get as many runaways as he could across the U.S. border to Canada. Still risked everything to keep detailed records of individuals’ stories, eventually compiled into a book recognized as the most authentic account of the inner workings of the Underground Railroad and the plights of those who used it. Underground Railroad: The William Still Story uses these powerful diaries, evocative reenactments, historical perspectives and moving accounts from the day to re-create one of North America’s greatest sagas.

“The heroism and desperate struggle that many of our people endured should be kept green in the memory of this and coming generations,” Still wrote. He believed future generations needed heroes and these were the most heroic people he could imagine.

Still’s diaries remain one of the most important and awe-inspiring records of the Underground Railroad. Still carefully interviewed fugitive slaves who came to him for help and recorded how they escaped in hopes that one day the information would help families and friends find each other. To this day, Still’s writings contain some of the best evidence we have of the workings of the Underground Railroad and the freedom seekers who used it.

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