Rising Free

African American History
in South Central
Pennsylvania:
the 19th Century

T. R. McIntosh --"Mac"-- taught in the Harrisburg School District for more than forty years before his recent retirement.  Decrying the lack of references to ethnic minorities and women in his school social studies texts, Mac supplemented his teachings with material from his extensive reference collection.  The following reference article was produced as a supplement to his session on Harrisburg's developing anti-slavery role at the February 2002 Underground Railroad and Abolition Seminars at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  This is the bibliography to part 1. 

Bibliography on Pennsylvania
African-American History

Bennett, Lerone, Jr.

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, 4th Ed. (1969) (Several other editions also available.)

Blockson, Charles L.

Pennsylvania Black History (1975)
The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania (1981)
"Escape from Slavery: The Underground Railroad," in National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 166, No. 1 (July, 1984), pp. 2-39.
"Damn Rare:" The Memoirs of an African-American Bibliophile (1998)
African Americans in Pennsylvania: Above Ground and Underground, An Illustrated Guide (2001)

Brown, Ira V.

Proclaim Liberty! Antislavery and Civil Rights in Pennsylvania, 1688-1887: Essays by Ira V. Brown (PSU) (2000)
"An Anti-Slavery Journey: Garrison and Douglass in Pennsylvania, 1847" in Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Vol. 67, No. 4 Rev. (Autumn, 2000), pp. 533-551.

Franklin, John Hope

From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, 3rd Ed. (1967) (Several other editions also available.)

Jackson, Calobe

Harrisburg resident and former member of the Harrisburg City Board of Education, known as a "Walking Encyclopedia of Harrisburg African-American History," several conversations (1995-present)

Smith, Eric Ledell

Prominent African-American historian with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, conversations and appearances on C-Span 2 (2000-present)

Still, William

The Underground Rail Road (1872) (Reprints available.)

Go to:
Significant Dates for  Pennsylvania African American History (part 1)
Significant Dates for  Harrisburg and Dauphin County (part 2)
Bibliography on Harrisburg & Dauphin County