Underground Railroad (History Channel)

Buy This Item Underground Railroad (History Channel) by A&E Home Video  Available from Amazon  $19.99  on 11-26-2008     The Underground Railroad, "the first civil rights movement," was no mere act of civil disobedience. The secret network of guides, pilots, and safe-house keepers (the Railroad's "conductors") was built by runaway slaves who, over the decades, communicated their experiences through songs and secret gestures, and were supported by abolitionists (many of them former slaves) who risked their own freedom to help free the enslaved. The "passengers" risked their lives.<p> A wealth of photos, documents, and commentary by modern historians provides the broad lines of history, but it comes alive in the individual stories of conductors and passengers, among them abolitionist and historian William Still, called the "Father of the Underground Railroad," and Henry "Box" Brown, who mailed himself to freedom in a cargo crate. They (and many others) take their place beside Harriet Tubman ("the Moses of her people") and Frederick Douglass as courageous heroes in America's first integrated social movement.<p> The DVD also features the <I>Biography</I> episode on Frederick Douglass, the complete text of the Emancipation Proclamation, a biographical essay on Harriet Tubman, and other historical background pieces. <I>--Sean Axmaker</I> Reader Reviews I'm not black, but nevertheless, I would like to see this story which is about a shameful part of American history, about human beings, people who suffered gross mistreatment at the hands of white people,and who had the courage to risk their lives in their race to freedom. They are to be greatly admired. I have not seen or ordered this DVD, much as I'd like to, because it offers no sub-titles, which I need in order to get every word of the dialogue. DVD producers should wake up and smell the coffee! They don't realize how many folks there are who would benefit greatly from subtitles if they were available! Already they have lost several sales to me because of no subtitles; this story about the "underground train" to the north is only one.

Underground Railroad (History Channel) Available from Amazon Price: $19.99 Updated on 11-26-2008.

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