America has always been a nation of roads. Some roads carried people toward opportunity. Others carried people away from oppression. And some of the most important roads in our history never appeared on a map.
Harriet Tubman knew those roads.
Born into slavery in Maryland around 1822, Tubman escaped bondage and then made the extraordinary decision to return for others. Through the network we now call the Underground Railroad, she helped enslaved people travel toward freedom. It was not a railroad with tracks or stations. It was a human network of courage—homes, churches, abolitionists, guides and ordinary people willing to risk everything because they believed freedom belonged to everyone.
For those traveling north, the destination represented something larger than geography. They were searching for a Promised Land—a place where families could live without chains, where children might inherit opportunity instead of bondage, and where human dignity would be respected.
But emancipation did not end the journey.
Decades later, Black Americans traveling across the United States faced another dangerous reality. Segregation determined where they could eat, sleep, purchase gasoline or simply stop safely for the night. Once again, people created their own network.
Beginning in 1936, The Negro Motorist Green Book, created by Victor Hugo Green, identified hotels, restaurants, service stations and businesses where Black travelers could expect to be welcomed. In a different era and under different circumstances, the Green Book served a purpose reminiscent of the Underground Railroad: it provided knowledge that helped people navigate a country where the road ahead could be uncertain and sometimes dangerous.
The Underground Railroad said, there is a safe house ahead.
The Green Book said, there is a safe place ahead.
Both demonstrated the extraordinary power of people helping people.
Both demonstrated the extraordinary power of people helping people.
That history reaches all the way to Las Vegas.
Behind the neon lights and glamorous Strip existed another Las Vegas—the Historic Westside, where African American families built businesses, churches, organizations and neighborhoods despite segregation and discrimination. Places such as the historic Harrison House remind us that Black travelers, entertainers and workers needed places of dignity and welcome even while helping build the entertainment capital of the world.
Today, the question is not simply where we have traveled. The question is: Where are we going?
I am Katherine “Katie” Duncan, candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 6, and I believe our generation must build the next road toward the Promised Land.
Our Underground Railroad is no longer hidden trails through forests. Our Green Book is no longer simply a directory telling travelers where they may safely sleep. Today’s road to freedom must lead families toward affordable housing, excellent education, safe neighborhoods, healthcare, entrepreneurship, technology, good-paying jobs and the ability to build generational wealth.
And we must recognize that the struggle for dignity belongs to no single people.
Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, immigrants, veterans, seniors, working families and young people may carry different histories, but we share fundamental hopes. We want our children safe. We want our elders respected. We want our cultures remembered. We want the opportunity to work, own something, build something and leave something behind.
The Promised Land cannot be a place reserved for a fortunate few.
That is why history matters.
Harriet Tubman did not reach freedom and forget those behind her. She went back.
The creators and supporters of the Green Book did not accept that travelers simply had to fend for themselves. They shared information and built networks.
Our ancestors understood something that remains true today: when the established road does not lead everyone toward opportunity, people of courage must build another road.
Las Vegas is still writing its story. District 6 is still writing its story. America is still writing its story.
The Underground Railroad teaches us to keep moving toward freedom. The Green Book teaches us to help one another along the journey. And the Promised Land reminds us that our destination must be greater than individual success.
