William Still was a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America’s Civil War. On December 1, 1976, his home was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #169. WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM TA-NEHISI COATES, AUTHOR OF THE WATER DANCER, ABRIDGED FROM WILLIAM STILL'S THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD RECORDS. Of note, Still was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony (his 1st Symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. Often referred to as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers", Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City … William Still was known as the “Father of The Underground Railroad,” aiding perhaps 800 fugitive slaves on their journeys to freedom and publishing their first-person accounts of bondage and escape in his 1872 book, The Underground Railroad Records.He wrote of the stories of the black men and women who successfully escaped to the Freedom Land, and their journey toward liberty. William Still helped some 800 slaves escape to freedom, but his heroism is often overshadowed by Harriet Tubman's. William Still received some schooling, and inherited a strong work ethic and family values from his parents. From tales of men murdered in cold blood for their part in helping assist runaways and terrifyingly tense descriptions of stowaways and dramatic escape plans, to stories of families reunited and the moments of absurdity that the Underground Railroad forced its 'passengers' to sometimes endure, Still's narratives testify to the humanity of this vast enterprise.
Although he gave his official birthdate as October 7, 1821, Still provided the date of November 1819 on the 1900 census. Registered office: 20 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, London. Still was also hired to arrange the music for the 1943 film Stormy Weather, but left the assignment because "Twentieth-Century Fox 'degraded colored people. Born in a free state, Still's father bought his own freedom and his mother was a twice-escaped slave and under federal slave law Still was legally a slave himself. We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience. [7], Still composed almost 200 works, including nine operas,[21]:200 five symphonies,[21]:200 four ballets,[22] plus art songs, chamber music, and works for solo instruments. Nonetheless, he was a fairly prominent leader of the African American community. Femi Lewis is a writer and educator who specializes in African-American history topics, including slavery, abolitionism, and the Harlem Renaissance. The Underground Railroad was a vital asset in helping escaped slaves make their way safely through the dangerous route from the South to the North, where by the early 1800s most states had abolished slavery. There were homes and businesses which secretly became “stations” along the route toward the north, harboring fugitive slaves temporarily before they could move on to the next safe place. As he grew older and more successful as a businessman, starting a coal delivery business, Still emerged as a leader of Philadelphia’s black community. [1]:2[2] They had a daughter, Judith Anne, and a son, Duncan. [2] For Lost Horizon, he arranged the music of Dimitri Tiomkin. William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly 200 works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works for solo instruments.

Between 1844 and 1865, Still helped at least 60 enslaved African Americans escape bondage. The journey grew longer in 1850, when Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. His mother had to escape twice, after she was found and captured the first time. And so the Underground Railroad was forced to extend up to Canada, which outlawed slavery in 1834. Still was also an organizer of a YMCA for African American youngsters; an active participant in the Freedmen's Aid Commission; and a founding member of the Berean Presbyterian Church. [2] During his time in Harlem Still was involved with other important cultural figures of the Harlem Renaissance such as Langston Hughes, Alain Locke, Arna Bontemps, and Countee Cullen, and is considered to be part of that movement. Library of CongressAn illustrated page from William Still’s book. Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. He was also one of the most successful Black businessmen in the history of the City of Philadelphia.

Check local listings to see when it's airing on your local PBS station. Following their marriage in 1847, the couple had four children: Caroline Matilda Still, one of the first African American women doctors in the United States; William Wilberforce Still, a prominent African American lawyer in Philadelphia; Robert George Still, a journalist and print shop owner; and Frances Ellen Still, an educator who was named after the poet Frances Watkins Harper. This page was last edited on 2 November 2020, at 23:50. William Still (October 7, 1821–July 14, 1902) was a prominent abolitionist and civil rights activist who coined the term Underground Railroad and, as one of the chief "conductors" in Pennsylvania, helped thousands of people achieve freedom and get settled away from enslavement. For her second escape attempt, she was forced to leave behind two of her four children. [2] On February 8, 1939, he married pianist Verna Arvey, driving to Tijuana for the ceremony because interracial marriage was illegal in California. Wikimedia CommonsWilliam Still’s first time helping a slave on the run was when he was a young boy, and continued to aid countless others since.
heart-breaking separations . [2], In 1955 he conducted the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra; he was the first African American to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South. William Still, a free-born Black, became an abolitionist movement leader and writer during the antebellum period in American history. See More.

William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario.

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Underground Railroad: The William Still Story tells the dramatic story of William Still, one of the most important yet largely unheralded individuals of the Underground Railroad.

: Symphonies Nos. As a result, Still published a pamphlet entitled, ​"A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of the Colored People of Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars" in 1867. Additional support by David W. Pretty, Vernon Achber and Phil Lind, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

"The heroism and desperate struggle that many of our people had to endure should be kept green in the memory of this and coming generations.

[2] Until 1950 the symphony was the most popular of any composed by an American.

Throughout William Still's childhood, he worked with his family on their farm and also found work as a woodcutter. [11] Still developed a close professional relationship with Hanson; many of Still's compositions were performed for the first time in Rochester. As a result, Still became known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad." In 1883, he issued the third expanded edition that included an autobiographical sketch. [9] With Henderson, he joined Henry Pace's Pace Phonograph Company (Black Swan). 1 "Afro-American", was performed in 1931 by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson. Still believed that the book could "encourage the race in efforts of self-elevation.". Natasha Ishak is a staff writer at All That's Interesting. Social Media and the Underground Railroad, Underground Railroad: The William Still Story Trailer.

(Published by Porter & Coates, Philadelphia 1872). [16], In 1949 his opera Troubled Island, originally completed in 1939, about Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti, was performed by the New York City Opera.


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