Freedom Trail is a limited-run podcast series chronicling a 24 hour road trip along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway. The Byway is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park designated by Congress and President Obama in 2014. Featuring a collection of 35 historical sites and structures, the Byway spans125 miles of highway in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The sites hold historical significance in Harriet Tubman’s life and in the history of slavery and abolitionism in the U.S.
The series is an examination of the process of learning from history through direct engagement with historic places and re-tracing historic journeys as well as relating the past to our present day reality. Allison Bland, a fellow Wellesley alumnae, and I recorded audio from our encounters with tour guides, highway toll operators, and nearly a dozen Byway sites, including Independence Hall, the Bucktown General Store, and the newly built Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center by GWWO Architects.
Freedom Trail is being produced in conjunction with Wellesley College's Alternative Alumni Association's Blog, Wellesley Underground.
