September is International Underground Railroad Month. Gov. Greg Abbott should recognize it with an official proclamation.
In 2019, Maryland adopted such a proclamation, choosing September because that’s the month in which two of America’s most well-known freedom-seekers escaped slavery — Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Last year, several other states joined Maryland in recognizing the designation. Those include New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
We learned about all of that from Diane Miller, program manager for a National Park Service initiative called National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. That program seeks to document historic sites related to freedom-seekers in American history and tell their stories. Miller and her team have been spreading the word to recruit more states to adopt Underground Railroad Month.
According to Renae Eze, a spokesperson for the office of the governor, Abbott could make Texas one of those states with just his signature. Ceremonial observations like this don’t require legislative approval. They are usually issued in response to constituent requests and can take as little as a few days to process. We encourage Abbott to take that action before the end of this month.
Texas’ history in this area is just now coming to light as historians from the University of North Texas to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley have started giving more attention to our state’s unique place in the journey of hundreds of those escaping slavery. Many of those freedom-seekers escaped to Mexico or Caribbean nations, which is part of the reason the September recognition includes the word “international.” Miller said enslaved people escaped to many nations, not just Canada, which seems to be what people assume when they think of the Underground Railroad. Her agency is working with the International Council on Monuments and Sites to expand the network.
Miller said there is not a federal designation for the month and, in fact, the involvement of the park service could be a hindrance to that.
“We can’t really initiate such a thing out of the agency. It’s viewed too much like lobbying,” she said. “That kind of thing is better coming from the outside.” That, too, sounds like a worthy endeavor to us.
An official designation from the federal or Texas government could help raise awareness and uncover more corners of this important part of American history.
As Americans, and especially as Texans, we put a high value on freedom. It makes sense for us to celebrate those in our history who risked their lives to pursue it, and those who helped them.
The Dallas Morning News
