Exhibit honors Underground Railroad workers’ bravery, sacrifices

Nedra Frodge has always been captivated by the mystery and danger of life on the Underground Railroad.

However, the recently retired art associate professor was dissatisfied with the minimal amount of information on conductors – those who helped the slaves escape to the northern U.S. and Canada.

So four years ago, she decided to hunt down the stories herself.

“I wanted to know why they would risk so much, what drove these people to help,” she said.

While on sabbatical from Central Michigan University, Frodge researched and traveled throughout the Midwest for a year, collecting photos and anecdotes to put faces on the heads of the secret routes and safe houses.

Her discoveries are now on display in the Multicultural Education Center in a photography exhibition entitled “Working on the (Underground) Railroad.”

The series includes photos of houses in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan – the main route of the Underground Railroad – and are accompanied by stories of the owners who risked everything to help slaves escape.

Frodge said she was particularly fascinated by Springboro, a small Quaker town in Ohio established for the key purpose of becoming a stop on the Underground Railroad. Secret passageways were built beneath the streets so slaves could quickly disappear from the public eye.

“I was really intrigued by the community effort,” she said.

Ulana Klymyshyn, Multicultural Education Center director, said the exhibit also includes information about modern day slavery, and facts about human trafficking are displayed with each photograph.

Frodge said work on her project is far from over, as she has plans to head to Canada to continue her research, and she hopes to make the project into a book sometime in the future.

The exhibition will be displayed through January 30. Viewing hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

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