Pennsylvania HR 275: A Resolution recognizing the month of September 2025 as "International Underground Railroad Month" in Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 2051
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 275
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SAPPEY, D. WILLIAMS, FREEMAN, PIELLI, VENKAT,
RIVERA, WAXMAN, VITALI, McNEILL, ABNEY, SAMUELSON, GUENST,
SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, CONKLIN, M. JONES, GALLAGHER AND
HOHENSTEIN, JUNE 27, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, JUNE 30, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the month of September 2025 as "International
Underground Railroad Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The trans-Atlantic slave trade began as early as the
15th century, introducing a system of slavery that was
commercialized, racialized and inherited; and
WHEREAS, People were forcefully abducted from Africa,
enslaved in the American colonies and exploited to work in the
production of crops, such as tobacco and cotton; and
WHEREAS, Although the Commonwealth passed a law in 1780 that
gradually eliminated slavery, the existing 6,000 enslaved people
in this Commonwealth remained enslaved and the enslaved people's
registered children would be enslaved until their 28th
birthdays; and
WHEREAS, Although a person could no longer legally import
enslaved people, they could buy and sell those who had been
registered after 1780; and
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WHEREAS, The law freed few enslaved people immediately; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth continued to tolerate and profit
from the labor of enslaved people for decades and many
Commonwealth cities enacted legislation that restricted and
oppressed free people of color; and
WHEREAS, During the era of slavery in the United States, the
Underground Railroad covertly operated as a network of places,
routes and people that assisted African Americans who were
enslaved to escape to freedom; and
WHEREAS, The term Underground Railroad was used
metaphorically as "conductors," which included a racially
diverse group of abolitionists that transported and guided the
"passengers" traveling along the routes; and
WHEREAS, "Station masters" hid the freedom seekers at
"stations" which included homes, barns, churches and businesses;
and
WHEREAS, Freedom seekers who arrived at the safe houses were
referred to as "cargo"; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth was a strategic and historic
location of freedom through the Underground Railroad; and
WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad traced across this
Commonwealth in a clandestine network that helped African
Americans realize freedom in this Commonwealth and elsewhere;
and
WHEREAS, Organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery
Society, the Free Produce Society of Pennsylvania, the
Philadelphia Free Produce Association of Friends, the
Pennsylvania Hall Association, the Pennsylvania Society for
Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, the Pennsylvania Yearly
Meeting of Progressive Friends, Germantown Quaker Petition
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Against Slavery and the Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia
worked tirelessly toward abolition within this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Events and sites associated with the Underground
Railroad can be found in every county in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad was integral in the freedom
and advancement of African Americans in the past, as well as
today; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth should show appreciation for the
inspiring efforts of the people of this Commonwealth and all of
those from around the world who have committed themselves to
document and share the Underground Railroad through the
Pennsylvania Civil War Sesquicentennial and Quest for Freedom
programs that connected Underground Railroad sites across this
Commonwealth, the National Park Service's National Underground
Railroad Network to Freedom program that lists 43 sites and
facilities in this Commonwealth and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Sites of
Memory designations; and
WHEREAS, Commonwealth agencies, institutions and
organizations such as the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, the Department of Community and Economic Development
and the 14 Frederick Douglass Institutes across the Pennsylvania
State System of Higher Education continue to educate young
people about the Commonwealth's role and leadership; and
WHEREAS, "International Underground Railroad Month" provides
an opportunity for a worldwide open dialogue that illuminates
the hopes that arise from freedom for all people; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
month of September 2025 as "International Underground Railroad
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Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor all of
those who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom of
all people.
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