Retracing the Underground Railroad: One historian’s 750-mile journey to mark America’s 250th anniversary
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, one historian is walking 750 miles to remind Americans how far the nation has traveled — and how far it still has to go.
Anthony Cohen, 62, is no stranger to this path. In 1996, he first followed the Underground Railroad from his home state of Maryland to Ontario, Canada. Since then, he founded the Menare Foundation, an organization that creates immersive historical experiences to teach audiences about the secret network of routes used by thousands of enslaved people escaping captivity.
For America’s semiquincentennial, Cohen decided to bring the journey back into the spotlight — this time along a different route, from Sandy Spring, Maryland, to Toronto. He calls it the “Freedom Walk.” Using historic maps and firsthand accounts, he reconstructed a path that winds through Delaware, New Jersey and New York. Much of the trip is on foot, though he has occasionally taken a train through upstate New York that closely follows the historic route.
“Any freedom movement is about putting one foot in front of the other and going for it,” Cohen said.
The walk is far from solitary. The Menare Foundation published a list of planned stops, inviting people to join and learn along the way. A statue of Harriet Tubman — the iconic conductor of the Underground Railroad — travels with them as a symbol of the enduring struggle for liberty.
Cohen invited Tom DeWolf to accompany him. DeWolf is a descendant of the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. “I said, ‘But I’m a White guy,’” DeWolf recalled. “And he said, ‘White people, White people helped.’ And then he said, ‘You can write a new legacy for your family.’”
At community events along the route, Cohen and DeWolf speak together about the history of the slave trade, the Underground Railroad and what it means to reckon with that past today. Their dialogue — between a Black historian and a White descendant of slave traders — offers a powerful model for confronting a painful history while forging a more inclusive future.
Cohen will cross into Canada on July 1 and is scheduled to arrive in Toronto on July 4 — the exact day the nation marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. His journey transforms a symbolic date into a living history lesson, reminding audiences that the work of freedom is never complete.