From Darkness to Light

They left during the middle of the night—often knowing only that moss grows on the north side of trees. An estimated 100,000 enslaved people chose to embark on a journey in search of freedom between 1830 and the end of the Civil War in 1865. They moved in constant fear of being killed or recaptured, returned, and beaten as an example of what would happen to others who might choose to run. Under the cover of darkness, “fugitives” traveled roughly twenty miles each night, traversing rugged terrain while enduring all the hardships that Mother Nature could bring to bear.

Occasionally, they were guided from one secret, safe location to the next by an everchanging, clandestine group known as the Underground Railroad. Many consider the
Underground Railroad to be the first civil rights movement in the Americas and the first time when people of different races and faiths worked together in harmony for freedom and justice. 

Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad features the work of photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales, who has spent more than a decade researching the ways fugitive slaves escaped to freedom. While the routes of the Underground Railroad cover countless square miles, Michna-Bales traveled roughly 2,000 miles to visit actual sites, cities, and places that freedom-seekers passed through during their journey.

From the cotton plantations south of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to the northern border with Canada, this series of photographs by Michna-Bales helps us imagine how the long road to freedom may have looked. While many books have been written on the Underground Railroad, there is little visual documentation because of its secretive nature. Today, as America becomes more and more diverse, Michna-Bales believes that an understanding of the experience—and those who lived through it—is more relevant than ever. Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad encourages inquiry and dialogue through dramatic color photographs, ephemera, and narratives that together tell the story of the Underground Railroad. 

This exhibition was organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. The Red Cloud Opera House also receives support for its gallery programs from the Baldwin Foundation, Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.