Parallel Communities: The Underground Railroad in South Jersey

by Dennis C. Rizzo

Overview

The true story of the small African American communities that formed in southern New Jersey during the era of slavery—includes photos.

For slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad, names like Springtown and Snow Hill promised sanctuary and salvation. Under the pressures of racial prejudice, many free blacks, runaway slaves, and even Native Americans formed island communities on the periphery of South Jersey towns. While Lawnside and others continue to thrive today, others, like Marshalltown and Timbuctoo, now exist only in memory.

In this discussion of these primarily African American communities, Dennis Rizzo validates their role in the preservation of tradition, definition of extended family, and creation of a social bond between diverse peoples; together they formed parallel communities based on, but independent of, the larger towns and villages familiar to residents of the Garden State.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614234593
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Series:	American Heritage
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Dennis Rizzo is the author of numerous books and articles. In late 2010, he moved to Orillia, Ontario, where he has joined the Mariposa Writers Group (a writing and critique group) and is their web manager. He is the chair of the Orillia Community Kitchen Resource Group and a member of the Orillia Museum of Art and History.