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Washington recently became a must-stop for the production crew of Seen and Held, which is producing a program for PBS about the Underground Railroad. The main storyline of the hour-long show is that of Ellen and William Craft. Ellen, who was biracial, passed herself as a wounded White soldier. Her husband was her ‘servant.’ They gained first-class passage by train and ship to Philadelphia from Macon, Georgia, and eventually moved to London, where they wrote their book, Running a Thousand Miles to Freedom. The show will also veer off into some of the stories of more well-known freedom seekers and those whose identity is unknown. “The latter is how the Elmwood Plantation and Washington came into play,” said Walt Brown, the show’s director. “I was looking for places where we could honor the people whose names we will never know because they are not recorded. Through our research, we learned that the Washington area had its own very intricate Underground Railroad network, and I felt it very important to honor that and those who were a part of it.”

The crew spent the majority of the day interviewing the director of the Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad, Leesa Jones, at the Elmwood Bed and Breakfast on West Main Street. They then headed over to the museum for some additional interviews with Jones and footage. “Leesa is simply fantastic,” said Brown. “She was the first Black caretaker of the Underground Railroad that we were able to interview on this part of the journey. Leesa was able to uncover for us and bring us into her vast knowledge of how the freedom seekers network worked in Washington. It was life-changing to talk to her, as the work she is doing is not for the faint of heart. I’m so thankful that we found Elmwood, which brought us to Leesa.”

For Jones, it was a privilege and honor to be able to meet with Brown and the rest of his production crew. “I’m extremely grateful to have been able to showcase how Washington played a significant part in helping the freedom seekers,” said Jones. “Washington’s role in the maritime Underground Railroad network and its connections to nationally known freedom networks and abolitionists is a vital part of our history here in Washington, our state, and the country as well. The concept of bringing the more well-known stories of the Underground Railroad together with those that we don’t know as well, and tying them together, is simply brilliant. And the exposure that Washington will receive as part of this nationally aired special will be invaluable.”

Brown said their journey for this show is taking them along the route of the Underground Railroad between New Orleans and Philadelphia. He said his objective for the program is for it to be from the point of view of the freedom seeker. “I want the audience to be able to watch it and feel like they are on the same journey and see things the freedom seekers would have seen during that time,” said Brown. “I also want to honor the people who saw something for themselves before they even knew it was possible.”

On a personal note, Brown said this is a one-in-a-lifetime project for him. “There aren’t many times that someone comes up to you and asks if you want to trace the Underground Railroad,” said Brown. “I grew up hearing stories and was able to trace one part of my family back to the plantation where they would have been enslaved. So to be able now to trace a part of that resistance from enslavement is very special, and something I will hold near and dear forever.”

The yet-to-be-named hour-long program is expected to air towards the end of December or by mid-January of 2025 at the latest.