By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communication Director
Union City, Tenn.–For the Union City Elementary Enrichment classes, Teacher Tammy Harris dressed as Harriet Tubman and told students of the story of the Underground Railroad as part of Black History Month.
Tubman was the black slave of a plantation owner in the mid-1800s who helped more than 300 other slaves escape to freedom via 19 trips along a route that was referred to as the Underground Railroad.
There was not literally a railroad, but instead a path that took enslaved African Americans to free states and Canada. The scheme, which included safe houses along the route, was assisted by abolitionists and other people (both black and white) sympathetic to the cause of the escapees. The escapees were given food, shelter and protection along the way.
It was said they “Followed the North Star to Freedom,” and it was estimated more than 75,000 slaves found their way to freedom along the Underground Railroad path.
Students played the role of slaves during part of Harris’ depiction of the times and interacted with the teacher during the question-and-answer time.