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Emeritus Professor Honored for Underground Railroad Research

Larry Gara Recognized for 'Pioneering Research'

September 21, 2009

Larry Gara, emeritus professor of history at Wilmington College, was unexpectedly recognized as a “special honoree” at the Network of Freedom Conference, Sept. 16 through 18, in Indianapolis.

The Friends of the Network of Freedom Association honored him for his “pioneering historical research” on the Underground Railroad.

He is the author of the renowned 1961 book, The Liberty Line: The Legend of the Underground Railroad, which, published nearly 50 years ago, is considered groundbreaking work in separating legend from fact. It began changing the perception of the long-romanticized Underground Railroad story.

The Liberty Line, which had a second edition published in 1996, is still used in college classrooms and has a permanent spot in The White House Library.

Gara was initially invited to the conference under the auspices of participating in a panel discussion on the Underground Railroad.

He spoke on the realities and myths surrounding the Underground Railroad and the fleeing of enslaved persons to the so-called free states. He proposes that the escaped fugitive be at the center of discussion, rather than the abolitionists.