The Midwest Underground Railroad Network, which started as the The Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project and has grown over the years to encompass the pre-Civil War history of the entire Calumet region, now has achieved national status.
Last week, Midwest Underground Railroad Network officials announced the South Holland-based nonprofit was officially recognized as a program of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom by the National Park Service.
The announcement came during International Underground Railroad Month, a time dedicated to honoring the history and communities from a pivotal time in history.
“This recognition is not simply an achievement for our organization — it is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to preserving history, educating our communities, and honoring those who pursued freedom and those who courageously helped make that freedom possible,” said Rodney Harrington, the nonprofit’s president.
Many freedom seekers crossed through Chicago’s Southland and the Illinois Central Railroad, according to Tom Shepherd, secretary of Midwest Underground Railroad Network.
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“It so happens that the South Holland area was right along a route that Freedom Seekers used in their escape from slavery, and in an effort to reach Chicago and the northern states where slavery was not permitted by law,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd said the national recognition is important because it offers additional visibility, listing the local organization alongside historically significant sites in 40 states, plus Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, according to the National Park Service. That list includes places such as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., the Harriet Tubman House in Auburn, New York, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
“This distinguished national distinction connects MURN’s ongoing regional work — spanning Chicago, South Holland, northwest Indiana and surrounding communities — to a broader national effort dedicated to preserving, interpreting and sharing the history of the Underground Railroad and the courageous individuals who pursued freedom,” the nonprofit said in a news release.
To that end, the Midwest Underground Railroad Network is joining with South Suburban College’s Service Learning Club for an Oct. 21 festival to highlight the history of the Underground Railroad and honor the freedom seekers who blazed those trails.
Jennifer Medlen, service learning coordinator and professor at South Suburban College, said one of the main themes of the event is to have community members step into their local history and learn more about the Underground Railroad.
“We want to expose our students and anyone from the community that comes to this history that they just might not be aware of. People have heard of the Underground Railroad, but they might not realize the connections here,” Medlen said.
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It’s not the first time South Suburban College and the Midwest Underground Railroad Network have worked together, Medlin said, including hosting historian Larry McClellan, one of the group’s founders, for discussions with students of Underground Railroad topics.
By having students participate, Medlen said, they can recognize the region’s history while also engaging with it in meaningful ways.
“We want students to feel like they are playing their own part in history today, and part of their way of playing a part is recognizing the history before them and being able to engage with it in a creative way that speaks to them,” Medlen said.
Members of the college’s Service Learning Club will help out at the event, according to Medlen, but other students are invited to play a role as well. Medlen said art students can contribute artwork that reflects the topics on display and that English students will submit poetry. She said there are multiple time slots for poetry readings so that as many students as possible can participate in the event.
The free event is from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the atrium and MB Financial Room at South Suburban College, 15800 State St., South Holland.
The event will kick off with a meet and greet, followed by the poetry readings, an art exhibit and introduction by McClellan and renditions of spirituals by Lana Lewis.
A lecture, Q&A and reading about the Underground Railroad will be led by Stephen Marc, a former professor at Arizona State who also taught at Columbia College in Chicago. There will also be readings by historian Glennette Tilly Turner, a drum circle with MURN Vice President Obari Cartman, music with retired professor Art Burton and student musical performances.
More information is with Medlen at [email protected].