The Underground Railroad Ran North And South

Until I started reading biographer Charles J. Shields's book, Lorraine Hansberry, The Life Behind A Raisin in the Sun (Holt, 2022), I thought all black fugitive slaves fled to freedom on the Underground Railroad in only one direction--north to Canada.

In fact, there were fugitive slaves who fled to Mexico via the Underground Railroad. Here is what Shields has written about the journey south of the border:

"During the years of American slavery, the Underground Railroad went south as well as north. The southern route crossed into Mexico, where slavery had been abolished in 1829 for economic reasons. The farthest point on the escape route was the 'Freedom Station' located in Mazamitla, Jalisco, roughly sixty miles south of Ajijic [a village]. Some of the campesinos bringing their farm goods into Ajijic  [during Hansberry's trip there] were descendants of escaped slaves from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama."