PENNSYLVANIA, February 21 - PRINTER'S NO. 344

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE RESOLUTION

No.

31

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY HAYWOOD, DILLON, HUGHES, SAVAL, A. WILLIAMS,

KEARNEY, FONTANA AND CAPPELLETTI, FEBRUARY 21, 2023

REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, FEBRUARY 21, 2023

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing the week of February 12 through 18, 2023, as

"William Still Week" in Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, William Still was born October 7, 1821, in Shamong

Township, New Jersey, before moving to Philadelphia in 1844; and

WHEREAS, William Still was an African-American abolitionist

who, as chairman of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society's

Vigilance Committee, orchestrated Underground Railroad

activities in Philadelphia and across the country; and

WHEREAS, Between 1850 and 1855, in the wake of the Fugitive

Slave Act, which required that Northern states assist in

capturing escaped slaves, William Still and his wife Letitia

sheltered hundreds of escapees in their Philadelphia home,

including well-known figures like Harriet Tubman; and

WHEREAS, The enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law instilled

fear among Underground Railroad operatives who destroyed the

records of the escapees whom the operatives had given aid; and

WHEREAS, However, William Still continued to keep detailed

accounts of the people who passed through Philadelphia en route

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