NACOGDOCHES, Texas — A new Discovery + docuseries, "Underground Railroad: The Secret History" will feature an East Texas professor and historical ethnographer.
“I've been working around discovering Underground Railroad stuff for about 15 to 20 years almost and so to finally have it recognized on the largest scale has been fantastic,” said SFA's Dr. Rolonda Teal.
Through her years of research, Dr. Teal has discovered slaves in search of freedom sought refuge in the Lone Star State.
“Most folks, including myself, have been taught that people from the South escaped going north, going into Canada,” said Dr. Teal. “As we conduct this type of research that many people from the South like Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, found it easier to go into Texas.”
Dr. Teal was to first to discover a national historical site with a connection to an underground railroad route that led slaves into Texas. The national site is known as El Camino Real De Los Tejas, which goes through Nacogdoches.
“What happen as these people were leaving Louisiana, Arkansas, etc. they traveled for what is known as El Camino Real De Los Tejas from Louisiana into Texas,” said Dr. Teal. “This was the exact same road this group of enslaved folks took.”
The series will also have GIS technology through the help of SFA professor Jefferey Williams.
“He brings it more to life Jeff and I have worked together on a couple of different occasions on a project in order to complete this story,” said Dr. Teal. “Jeff was able to do was bring in the GIS component so that we can actually retrace this trail that I had identified through my research.”
When folks tune in to watch the series, Dr. Teal hopes viewers will gain a better understanding of how the south played a significant role during that era.
“This may seem like old history, but to some extent, what happened in the past can repeat itself so knowing the history, I think, better prepares you for the future,” said Dr. Teal.
Episode one of the docuseries is set to air Sunday, Jan. 30, at 9 p.m. on the Science Channel and Discovery+.