History's Tangled Threads

Thanks to Mr. Sutton over at Read Roger (call me old-fashioned, but I simply cannot refer to the editor of The Horn Book by his first name!) for the link to the Fergus Bordewich's Op-Ed piece on the Underground Railroad. Entitled History's Tangled Threads, Bordewich turns the freedom quilt myth head on. It's an interesting read. I was most moved by this conclusion:

"In an age when self-interest has been elevated in our culture to a public and political virtue, the Underground Railroad still has something to teach: that every individual, no matter how humble, can make a difference in the world, and that the importance of one’s life lies not in money or celebrity, but in doing the right thing, even in silence or secrecy, and without reward."

I don't have many books about the Underground Railroad, but I do have one that is just fabulous. Check out the Caldecott Honor book, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.