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Title details for Vigilance by Andrew K. Diemer - Available

Vigilance

The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad

by Andrew K. Diemer
Cary Hite
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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The remarkable and inspiring story of William Still, an unknown abolitionist who dedicated his life to managing a critical section of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia—the free state directly north of the Mason-Dixon Line—helping hundreds of people escape from slavery.
Born free in 1821 to two parents who had been enslaved, William Still was drawn to antislavery work from a young age. Hired as a clerk at the Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia after teaching himself to read and write, he began directly assisting enslaved people who were crossing over from the South into freedom. Andrew Diemer captures the full range and accomplishments of Still’s life, from his resistance to Fugitive Slave Laws and his relationship with John Brown before the war, to his long career fighting for citizenship rights and desegregation until the early twentieth century.
 
Despite Still’s disappearance from history books, during his lifetime he was known as “the Father of the Underground Railroad.” Working alongside Harriet Tubman and others at the center of the struggle for Black freedom, Still helped to lay the groundwork for long-lasting activism in the Black community, insisting that the success of their efforts lay not in the work of a few charismatic leaders, but in the cultivation of extensive grassroots networks.  Through meticulous research and engaging writing, Vigilance establishes William Still in his rightful place in American history as a major figure of the abolitionist movement.
 

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 1, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593627877
      • File size: 355446 KB
      • Duration: 12:20:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2023

      Historian Diemer (Towson Univ.; The Politics of Black Citizenship) moves beyond reporting details of the life of William Still in this engaging production narrated by Cary Hite. Diemer also fleshes out and explores the actions of the Underground Railroad community that thrived, due in large part to Still's hard work organizing, protecting, and chairing the Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia's Anti-Slavery Society Office and his responses to backlash from opponents of abolition. Still would not have been as successful without the support of his peers, friends, and family, who helped him give enslaved people the hand they needed to help themselves, Diemer writes. Luminaries featured include abolitionists Lucretia Mott and John Brown and formerly enslaved abolitionists Henry Box Brown and Harriet Tubman. Backlash from the Dred Scott case and similar setbacks made daily life challenging for all. Hite's pitch rises and falls, and pacing varies as controversy and action follow Stills at every turn. To set apart quotations, Hite effectively uses changes in tone as if speaking for that person, with racial slurs and demeaning language edited out of quotations in the audio production. VERDICT An enlightening survey of the abolitionist movement in Philadelphia, centered around Still's life; deftly delivered by Hite.--Stephanie Bange

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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