The Freedom Chronicle:

Students' Corner

My name is Phil Ulrich, and I have been a part of the Institute for Freedom Studies since Fall, 2002. I was hired to record and edit videos for teachers who attended the Underground Railroad Teaching Summit; specifically, I filmed K-12 teachers giving a lesson to their students about the Underground Railroad.

I found the work fascinating which is not surprising since I find digital video and the editing process exciting. However, what I found most fascinating was learning about the Underground Railroad - in fact, I learned just as much as some of the students I filmed.

A lot of the information the teachers presented to their students hit close to home for me - literally. I am from Maysville, Kentucky, one of the local historical pointers on the Underground Railroad. Despite growing up in and around the area, I never really had time to explore the rich culture and heritage around the little town of Maysville (and the nearby town of Ripley, in Ohio). However, through my film work, I learned about people I had never heard of before, such as John P. Parker. I also learned more about local Underground Railroad personalities that I only knew by name, such as the Reverend John Rankin.

I was extremely excited about being a part of the Underground Railroad Teaching Summit this fall, and look forward to helping with the Summit next year, when it expands to a regional event. I look forward to learning even more about the Underground Railroad through teachers who are passing on this rich knowledge of the past to a new generation of children.
Phil Ulrich, Sophomore

My name is Brooke Gillette and I have been a research assistant for the Institute for Freedom Studies for about 31/2 years now. I originally began my research with the Fugitive Enslaved Person Database but have been able to involve myself with additional projects over the past year. Currently, I am developing an Underground Railroad Bibliographic database for both IFS and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Ultimately, this bibliography will provide students, teachers, and researchers many primary and secondary UGRR sources.

It is my vision that the initial Underground Railroad Bibliography will be available by May 2003.
I am very excited about having the opportunity to be a part of such an important project. Recently, I had my first meeting with the Freedom Center regarding the specifics of the bibliography, which turned out to be an extremely informative session. I learned a great deal about archival research and general publishing information. I look forward to working with the Freedom Center on this project.
Brooke Gillette, Senior

I was once satisfied with my knowledge of our U.S. history, but after seven months of working with the Institute for Freedom Studies that mindset has changed. I am now finding myself immersed in research, never content with the amount of information I have collected. My job at IFS is to read through a collection of runaway slave advertisements published in newspapers, particularly in Georgia and Virginia. Stories have been told and documentaries have been produced, but nothing could have prepared me for the detailed images and reality these advertisements portray.

As I read through the slave advertisements, I collect specific information about enslaved persons. I have found the body marks and the restraints worn by enslaved people during their escape most interesting. Owners would include body marks of the enslaved person in their ads so it would be easier to identify them. Examples of body marks detailed in these advertisements include scars from being whipped or ìcorrected,î initials of an owner branded on the runawayís face or breast, broken legs or no legs which hinder the runaway, as well as open wounds of unidentified origins. In the advertisements, owners also included the types of restraints worn by the runaways such as handcuffs, collars, and irons weighing up to fourteen pounds.

Working at IFS has become a fascinating history lesson. I have been given the opportunity to see local Underground Railroad sites as well as conduct field research on unauthenticated sites. I participated in an interactive reenactment of the Underground Railroad, and attended lectures to understand other viewpoints. I no longer look at slavery as just an institution. Instead, I see the names and faces of the enslaved; I see the paths and hideaways used to escape enslavement. I look forward to working more with Dr. Brown, Judy Sroufe, and the other students at IFS as I continue to research and discover more about our past.
Emily Powers

My name is Julie Hilvers, and I have had the opportunity to be a member of the student coding team since Summer 2002. I was first introduced to the fugitive slave database project in Spring 2002, as a student in Dr. Brownís Sociology 300 course, Race and Ethnic Relations. The sample of individuals that I coded were primarily runaway Dutch and Irish servants, indentured in the American colonies. It was very fascinating, yet alarming to see the bold contrast in description in the newspaper advertisements of the European runaways compared to the enslaved Africans whom other students were coding.

The white servants were often dignified with descriptions indicating both first and last names, while being described with adjectives such as "fine" and "likely." In comparison, the enslaved Africans were often given only a first name by their master while being described with such insulting language as "lusty," "ordinary," and "low." The most striking difference is that the white runaway servants are rarely described as having scars and whipping marks. For me, this difference exposed the brutality of the institution of slavery for enslaved Africans in the United States.

As a student coder in the IFS office, I have been given the opportunity to do research and learn about "Black Loyalists." These are the enslaved Africans who joined with the British forces during the American Revolution. Longing for escape from the oppressive system of enslavement in the colonies, these individuals ran away from their masters, in hopes of freedom in Nova Scotia, and ultimately Sierra Leone, Africa.

As I said earlier, this has been a tremendous learning experience for me, in terms of history of the United States and the significance of the Underground Railroad. While the Black Loyalists did not escape from slavery with the assistance of abolitionists and Underground Railroad stations, they escaped on ships, and many were given certificates of freedom by British Generals. The Black Loyalists, therefore, were in solidarity with the enslaved Africans running to northern states in their desperate desire to have personal freedom, and their determination to attain it.

Julie Hilvers

My name is Annette Fournier, and I am one of the students recording information to the fugitive slave database. I have been fortunate enough, since working for Dr. Prince Brown, to read accounts of a few thousand runaways, and begin to understand some of the hardships that enslaved persons endured on their journey to freedom. Some of the articles are very basic in detail, sometimes not even revealing the name of an escapee. Others, however, give a unique glimpse at both the enslaved persons and their oppressors. The articles that I have been reading span from the early 1700s New England to the entire South throughout the 1800s. As I have been reading these advertisements, trends have started to emerge.

One of the trends that has stood out has been the description of the clothing that people were wearing during their escapes. In the South in the mid 1800s, a typical runaway would be described as shoeless and wearing nothing more than rags, year-round. This coincided with my basic assumptions about how they would be clad, with the clothing becoming worse the farther south they were located. Yet, when juxtaposed with cases from the North, most enslaved persons are described as wearing shoes and socks, shirt, vest and breeches or a dress with a petticoat, a hat, an ìundercoatî and an overcoat, often with decorative buttons. The clothing is sometimes described as old and worn, but just as often, masters refer to it as being new-looking, substantial, and of good material. In fact, in most cases, those escaping ran away with several pieces of clothing. Whether this clothing was actually theirs, or whether it was taken from their so-called owners is not revealed. Interestingly, in the South, the two exceptions seemed to be New Orleans and, to a lesser degree, Maryland, with enslaved persons in these areas wearing clothing more consistent with that described in the North.

Annette Fournier

January of this year marks my first-year anniversary as a member of the Institute for Freedom Studies. My specific job is to read advertisements for runaway slaves in the State of Maryland during the period 1773-1790 and record essential information that pertains to individual runaways. This information can be used to track the progression of a runaway's life. So far, I have documented 200 cases.

However, these 200 cases donít fully bring to light the severity of the enslavement experience. The remarkable thing I have been able to gather from reading these publications is the strength of those enslaved. Even though completely outnumbered and condemned, enslaved persons still resisted and kept their spirit and hope alive. They didn't give up; they didn't lie down. If this past year has done nothing else, it has humbled me.
Charles Colley

Hello! My name is J. K. Long. I have had the wonderful opportunity of working in the IFS office for almost two years now. I was asked to join the student research team after taking an introductory course in Sociology with Dr. Prince Brown as a freshman.

I have always been fascinated with the Underground Railroad (UGRR) and the institution of slavery; therefore, my position as a student researcher does not feel like ìwork.î I see my position on the research team as an extremely useful way of becoming more knowledgeable about the UGRR and runaway slaves, as well as maintaining my deep interest in perhaps the most devastating institution that has ever existed. I have never had a boring day researching, and I look forward to working more on these fascinating historical events.
J.K. Long

The Legacy of Enslavement and the Underground Railroad

The Third Annual Freedom Studies Writing and Visual Art Contests

Prizes: $100 first place, $50 second place, $25 third place in each contest

Submission Deadline: Friday, April 11, 2003 in the Institute for Freedom Studies (IFS), Landrum 330

Winners Announced By: Monday, April 21, 2003

Exhibition of Winning Works: April 23 to May 2, 2003, in the NKU Corbett Theatre Foyer

Visual Art Contest Judge: Tuliza Fleming, Assistant Curator for American Art, Dayton Art Institute

Writing Contest Judge: To be announced

For a list of requirements, see the IFS website. For more information about the writing contest, email Kristine Yohe. For more information about the art contest, email David Knight.