William Parker (abolitionist)

William Parker (1821 – April 14, 1891) was an American former slave who escaped from Maryland to Pennsylvania, where he became an abolitionist and anti-slavery activist in Christiana. He was a farmer and led a black self-defense organization. He was notable as a principal figure in the Christiana incident, 1851, also known as the Christiana Resistance. Edward Gorsuch, a Maryland slaveowner who owned four slaves who had fled over the state border to Parker's farm, was killed and other white men in the party to capture the fugitives were wounded. The events brought national attention to the challenges of enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

Upon Gorsuch's death, Parker fled the area, traveling by the Underground Railroad to Rochester, New York, where he met with Frederick Douglass. Douglass arranged for Parker and his party to take a ferry across the Niagara River to Canada, where they gained freedom. Settling in Buxton, Parker learned to read and write, and became a correspondent for Douglass's North Star newspaper.

Forty-one men were indicted in the Christiana case, mostly on charges of treason for trying to thwart the Fugitive Slave Law. A white man, Hanway, was tried in the US District Court in Philadelphia, Judge John K. Kane presiding. After he was acquitted by the jury in 15 minutes, the US Attorney's office decided against trying others.

Frederick Douglass in his autobiography discusses several incidents of resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law. He ranked the events at Christiana that, "more than all else, destroyed the fugitive slave law".^[1] Ten years before the Civil War, the events in Christiana generated the following headlines, "Civil War, The First Blow Struck",^[2] foreshadowing events to come and highlighting the historical significance of the event.

William Parker became renowned for his activism against slavery, and his bravery in the protection of his and other blacks' civil and political rights. He assisted many runaway slaves and was one of many people in the area involved in the Underground Railroad. His boldness and leadership in the resistance at his house in Christiana inspired people in the neighborhood. For years the events of the resistance there had been largely attributed to the leadership of white Quakers. But accounts reported they were there in support of their black neighbors and were not openly engaged in the resistance.