In America, in the 1860s, not everything inside a coffin was dead.
Undertakers like Henrietta Duterte smuggled fugitives across the country in caskets, putting their own lives at risk to help others reach freedom. During a time of violence and fear, this ruse required stillness and trust and the terrible knowledge that some things are indeed worse than death.
To learn more about Henrietta Duterte, the woman who turned her funeral parlor into a stop on the underground railroad, visit damnjoan.com.
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