The Nature of the Underground Railroad with Anthony Cohen
Illustration by Jasmine Hortop
Anthony Cohen is a historian, author and expert on the Underground Railroad who has taken a truly unique approach towards researching and teaching history. His career was launched in 1996 when he traveled 1,200 miles by foot, boat and rail to retrace one of the routes of the Underground Railroad.
Since completing this remarkable journey, Anthony has developed his expertise in experiential history, establishing a living history center that teaches people about slavery and life on an 1850s plantation. His work has been featured in a number of documentaries, most recently the series, “Rooted Wisdom”, about nature’s role in the Underground Railroad.
Anthony shares lots of great stories about his Underground Railroad journey and his unique career path in this episode of the show. Maybe the most fascinating story that Anthony shared was about his attempt to recreate the experience of Henry “Box” Brown, who mailed himself to freedom inside a shipping crate in 1849. As a part of his Underground Railroad journey, Anthony climbed inside a shipping crate and was mailed (via an Amtrak train) from Philadelphia to New York.
In addition to sharing stories from his journey and discussing his current work at the Button Farm Living History Center, Anthony and I talked about what it’s like to walk long distances and learned that we’d had some common experiences. At one point he flipped the script and started asking me questions!
I’m deeply grateful to Anthony for taking the time to speak with me and share his knowledge and expertise. I hope that you all enjoy the conversation as much as I did!
-Matt Podolsky
Learn more about Anthony’s work:
