Newsflash!
Since our March conference, we have been at work in Springfield. Now the Illinois State Assembly has passed a bill to establish a permanent Freedom Trails Commission to support public history relating to freedom seeking in Illinois. Governor Pritzker’s signature and appropriations are the next steps. Let him hear from you, and stay tuned.
The Freedom Corridor began in 2023 and you can explore:
- our founding document to guide our work
- our 2024 conference
- a year of zoom talks, and
- the just-concluded 2025 conference.
From seven stars in 2024, we can now see 429 stars statewide — as you can see in the logos and explained here.
“The Freedom Corridor is a network of organizations and individuals dedicated to research, education, and celebratory activities that uplift the tradition of freedom seeking and those that advocate for the dismantling of racism and all forms of oppression. The Corridor is established to foster collaboration between historic sites, cultural institutions, and community stakeholders, with the hope of becoming a central voice in the preservation, advocacy, stewardship, and teaching of the region’s African American and other diverse histories.”
Organizing committee:
Dr. Gerald McWorter/Abdul Alkalimat, New Philadelphia Association, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and great-great-grandson of Frank and Lucy McWorter
G. Faye Dant, Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center (Hannibal)
Carolyn Farrar, Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum
Dr. Kamau Kemayó, University of Illinois Springfield (emeritus)/Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum
Dr. Brian Mitchell, formerly at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield)
Nalo Mitchell, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield)
Alberta Robinson, Jacksonville African American History Museum
Dr. Kate Williams-McWorter, New Philadelphia Association and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Art Wilson, Jacksonville African American History Museum
Dr. Brittney Yancy, Illinois College (Jacksonville)
To get in touch, contact brittney.yancy@ic.edu or bkmitchell@prodigy.net