Mello, Mark: The Underground Railroad in New Bedford, Massachusetts

What this episode covers

Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/[email protected]/1197-1-MELLO_MARK_P1_2016_CA.mp3) New Bedford, Massachusetts, a sea port located in the southeast corner of Massachusetts, at the base of Cape Cod is the locale of our program. Early in New Bedford’s history a group of Quakers from Boston moved there and “New Bedford became a safe haven for formerly enslaved African-Americans" who had been able to escape bondage. The stories of those who safely arrived in New Bedford on the Underground Railroad are presented at the 34 acre New Bedford National Historical Park in the Old Town section of New Bedford. This two part series on the New Bedford Underground Railroad with National Park Ranger Mark Mello was recorded on September 2, 2016, with the sound of wind and street traffic in the background. Part one begins with a historical perspective of the Underground Railroad and the way in which New Bedford, Massachusetts was a safe haven for former slaves. The books Mark Mello recommends are “Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts,” by Kathryn Grover; "Whale Hunt," by Nelson Cole Haley; and "Leviathan," by Philip Hoare.

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