LEONARDTOWN, MD – A poignant and powerful traveling exhibition, “Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad,” is set to grace the St. Clement’s Island Museum from January 28, 2024. This remarkable display, coinciding with Black History Month, will be open to the public until March 16, 2024. The museum welcomes visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with admission details available at www.stmaryscountymd.gov/SCIM.
The exhibit sheds light on a pivotal yet often underrepresented part of American history – the Underground Railroad. It features a collection of dramatic color photographs, narratives, and ephemera, bringing to life the perilous journey of an estimated 100,000 slaves who sought freedom between 1830 and 1865. These individuals embarked on treacherous travels by night, guided only by their resilience and covert signals like the moss on the north side of trees, often braving harsh natural elements and the constant threat of capture and punishment.
Jeanine Michna-Bales, the photographer behind this exhibition, devoted over a decade to researching these escape routes. Her work, encompassing roughly 2,000 miles of actual sites, cities, and places traversed by the freedom-seekers, offers a rare visual exploration of their journey to liberty.
The exhibit presents a vivid pictorial narrative of the Underground Railroad and symbolizes the collective struggle for freedom that transcended race, religion, and social status. It serves as a reminder of America’s first major civil rights movement, where diverse groups united for a singular noble cause.
Michna-Bales’ photographs provide a unique perspective, imagining the journey to freedom through the eyes of those who undertook it. Her upcoming publication with Princeton Architectural Press, comprising eighty-two photographs and accompanying texts, promises to illuminate this crucial chapter in American history further.
The St. Mary’s County Museum Division, which has long anticipated hosting this exhibition, is one of many organizations nationwide chosen to display these works. The significance of this event is heightened by St. Mary’s County’s historical ties to the Underground Railroad, being home to four sites on the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Trail, including the Old Jail Museum.
Museum Division Manager Karen Stone was enthusiastic about bringing this impactful exhibit to the county. “This high-quality and stirring exhibit will be available to the public during Black History Month 2024 before moving on to its next destination,” Stone remarked. She encourages the Southern Maryland community to seize this opportunity to engage with a vital part of their history.
For further details on the exhibit, interested individuals are directed to Facebook.com/SCIMuseum or eusa.org/exhibition/underground-railroad. This exhibition is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
