The Civil War Museum of Philadelphia proudly sponsors on Thursday, January 26, LancasterHistory's first Regional History Colloquium of 2023 featuring Towson University’s Dr. Andrew Diemer discussing his latest book, Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad.
William Still was born free in New Jersey, the youngest son of parents who escaped from slavery on the eastern shore of Maryland. In the decades leading up to the Civil War, Still organized an abolitionist network that aided hundreds of freedom seekers who passed through Pennsylvania. Still published the stories of these freedom seekers in one of the most important manuscripts to document that secretive network. Towson University professor Dr. Andrew Diemer joins LancasterHistory to discuss his new biography of William Still, the Father of the Underground Railroad.
Andrew Diemer, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of History at Towson University, where he has taught since 2011. He received his Ph.D. from Temple University, and is the author of The Politics of Black Citizenship: Free African Americans in the Mid-Atlantic Borderland, 1817-1863 (University of Georgia Press, 2016). He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A City Divided: The Civil War, Philadelphia, and the Union League is currently on display in The Sir John Templeton Heritage Center through June 2024. The Heritage Center is home to the Legacy Foundation; the space is a celebration of the rich history, heritage and traditions of The Union League of Philadelphia, and serves as a portal to the community. The Legacy Foundation encourages members, scholars, students and others to view, research and interact with the history and collections through both the rotating exhibitions and the research center. The Legacy Foundation is dedicated to the same tenets of freedom and free enterprise upon which the Union League was founded, and through historic preservation, education, and scholarship promotes these values and ideals, inspiring more educated, engaged, and responsible citizens.