Hi John,

I completely agree with you that opposition sites are important UGRR sites, in order to show the whole story.
I just think it would be clearer and more helpful to understanding the history if opposition sites, precurser sites, postcurser sites and any other sites that help illuminate the various routes to freedom, were not all jumbled under the label UGRR. I even think that some opposition sites, like the holding cells that you describe might properly be labeled UGRR because many slaves who were trying to escape on the UGRR may have ended up in them.

But a cemetery of an organization that wasn't formed until after slavery ended being called a UGRR site because many of the members buried in it escaped slavery in one form or another is just inaccurate. Many would argue that the Black Seminoles were never even truly enslaved - they were just in such danger from slavers in Indian Territory that they had to get out of there and traveled to Mexico in large and obvious groups together with their Indian allies/masters. It is a huuuuge stretch to label their cemetery a UGRR site and will definitely end up confusing the history of the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts, rather than clarifying any history, theirs ofr the UGRR.

And I argue this precisely because it is not the NPS' mandate to do signage and explain the reasons behind their designations. If they are not explaining why they see a connection, then they need to be very careful about confusing labeling.

Best,
Kato