NEIU’s 2007 Black History Month Celebration has events and festivities for students of all ethnicities. “Social Structure of Freedom” provided sociological reasoning as to why Harriet Tubman was so successful at the Underground Railroad. Dr. Nicholas Young’s contemporary research methods with modern technology provided a new chapter to this crucial story in Black History.
“Harriet Tubman was the first woman to lead a United States force into battle,” Young said with a stern but colorful voice. “These people worked together in a way historians didn’t understand.”
He continued that the Underground Railroad was more than the freeing of slaves; it was a “high-decentralized social movement and organized interracial coordination.” Interracial coordination of this time was foreign and even today society does not possess such racial harmony.
On Feb. 8 the Marketing and Sociology departments hosted “Social Structure of Freedom: Race, Networks, and Entrepreneurialism in the New York State Underground Railroad”, a lecture/presentation by Young.
Considering himself a historical sociologist, Young bought this project into existence by fusing together theory and empirical analysis.
Young explained the “social structure” in this project is a pattern of relations. Tubman used a network of connections to carryout her successful missions.
Enslaved African-American, free blacks, and whites worked together to free those in bondage and end slavery in New York. The lecture presented the sociological methods that eradicated slavery in the state and the social capital explanation of Tubman’s success.
According to Young, most scholars believe the Underground Railroad started in the 1830s. The railroad is believed to have developed because of the advent and fascination of rail transportation. The data and methods in the project were presented in an extensive list. Young explained the relevance of the data he collected to the project.
The presentation was student friendly and a unique approach to bring Black History to the diverse student body of NEIU. Faces around the room were painted with attention as Young lectured through the slides.
Young is currently working on several projects surrounding social structure of freedom. He is working on mapping social structure across North America and has received funding to continue his academic research.
Young said what made him decide to study the Underground Railroad in this fashion: “I am a sociologist. I am trained to question things. I believed there had to be a way this woman freed people and kept doing it efficiently.”