 Anthony Cohen - On May 4, 1996, historian Anthony
Cohen embarked on a two-month-long journey to explore a tragically overlooked
part of American history: the Underground Railroad, the secret network that
thousands of slaves traveled through to attain their freedom. He began the trek
at Sandy Spring, MD, traveling a distance of 1,200 miles, reaching his final
destination point of Amherstburg, Ontario, on July 7, 1996. During the journey,
Anthony Cohen retraced the steps that slaves made along waterways and rail lines
to churches and Quaker sanctuaries.
Following the success of his first walk Anthony Cohen
embarked on another in 1998, traveling three months from Mobile, Alabama to
Windsor, Ontario. Spring 2003 will bring his third and final expedition as he
follows the route of his great-great grand uncle who fled slavery in Savannah,
GA for freedom in Canada in 1851. This journey will be chronicled in a
feature-length documentary, The Underground Railroad: A Personal Journey, to be
released nationwide in February 2004. He hopes his efforts and the publication
of his book will result in a greater awareness and understanding of the
Railroad's importance in America's history. "The Underground Railroad is really
one of the most positive aspects of our heritage, although it grew out of one of
the most insidious chapters in our history," he says.
Anthony Cohen continues to share the story of his trip in
lectures for audiences across America. He has served as a consultant to the
National Parks Conservation Association, Maryland Public Television, and NASA,
among others, and trained Oprah Winfrey for her role as Sethe in the 1998 film
Beloved. Anthony Cohen currently serves as Executive Director of The Menare
Foundation, Inc., a national non-profit working to restore Underground Railroad
safe houses nationwide. His speeches offer audiences a special understanding of
the Underground Railroad's place in American history. His colorful descriptions
of his experiences on the Railroad enable listeners to follow him as he passes
through the secret hiding places slaves used over a century ago on their way to
freedom. They hear the harrowing tale of how he was secretly shipped inside a
wooden crate aboard a train from Philadelphia to New York (as a slave once was),
and see themselves walking with him as he travels the countryside at night,
guided by the North Star. In addition to recounting his journal, Anthony Cohen
also tells inspiring stories about Americans who have not given up on the dream
of equality between the races.
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