The history of The Underground Railroad in Hampton Roads – Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander

In this special episode, we feature the audio from Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, who tells the story of the Underground Railroad in Hampton Roads, Virginia, & shares how new information is still being uncovered. Learn why the nation witnessed the emergence of Spirituals of joy & sadness, rage & love, tranquility & anxiety, hope & freedom. Cassandra Newby-Alexander is the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and a Professor of History at Norfolk State University. A noted specialist in African American and Virginia history, she is the author and co-author of Virginia Waterways and the Underground Railroad (2017), An African American History of the Civil War in Hampton Roads (2010). She also co-edited Voices from within the Veil: African Americans and the Experience of Democracy (2008) and has contributed articles in numerous journals and books including the “In Search of the Twenty and Odd’: Reclaiming the Humanity of America’s First Africans in the Virginia Colony” in Engaging the African Diaspora in K-12 Education (2020); and “Laura E. Davis Titus: Feminine Leadership in Freedom’s First Generation” in Women Claiming Freedom: Gender, Race, and Liberty in the Americas (2020).