Illinois’ Underground Railroad: Tribune series shines light on freedom seekers’ journeys through state

Chicago Tribune

September shines light on the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, created in 1998 to show the history of resistance to enslavement. The Network to Freedom features a verified, ongoing list of Underground Railroad sites, facilities and programs in the United States.

The scope of enslavement and the aftermath has been documented by Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project and Reuters’ “Slavery’s Descendants” series, among others. We wanted to spotlight Underground Railroad sites in Illinois, explore the histories surrounding them and provide travel details, while centering the stories of freedom seekers, formerly enslaved African Americans who escaped bondage in search of freedom in the United States and abroad.

Read more here.