"Aiming for Pensacola"

Riding the Underground Railroad in the Deep South

Workshop Dates: July 13-17 and 20-24, 2009

A National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop for Schoolteachers, this workshop, which is centered on the campus of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida, illuminates the incredible and little-known story of the Underground Railroad in the Deep South. Visits to prominent landmarks in Pensacola and along Florida’s Gulf Coast, in conjunction with lectures and discussions with distinguished visiting scholars, will instruct teachers from throughout the United States on Pensacola’s unique place in the history of slavery, slave resistance, and the Underground Railroad; they will also illustrate the critical role that African Americans and their white allies in the Deep South played in the national movement to abolish slavery in the United States. Discussions with faculty, scholars, and the master teacher will aid teachers in the development of innovative lesson plans that utilize essential primary materials, including pamphlets, images, and runaway slave advertisements.