Stories of the Underground Railroad Chicago
Listen to all 23 recordings using the Bandcamp player below. Select a recording in the player’s track list.
Open the album on Bandcamp if the player is unavailable.
Voices · Landscapes · Living history
Stories of the Underground Railroad
A Community Audio Archive from Sand Ridge Nature Center
28 participants. 360 minutes of recordings. Stories of freedom, migration, memory, land, and belonging.
Creative Capitol × Forest Preserves of Cook CountyIn collaboration with the Midwest Underground Railroad Network.
A community archive documenting stories of freedom, migration, memory, place, and the Underground Railroad through recordings collected at Sand Ridge Nature Center.
START HERE
Stories of the Underground Railroad
An Audio Documentary
Before exploring the full community archive, listen to the story.
Listen on Bandcamp if the player is unavailable. 19 minutes, 52 seconds
This curated audio documentary weaves together voices, historical interpretation, storytelling, performances, and community reflections recorded through the Sounds of the Underground Railroad project at Sand Ridge Nature Center.
Drawing from approximately 360 minutes of recordings contributed by 28 participants, the documentary introduces the people, histories, places, and ideas preserved throughout the larger archive.
28Participants
360Minutes of Recordings
6 Hoursof Recorded History
5+Public Programs
All recorded material has been transcribed for accessibility, research, and education.
People behind the archive
Find your way
Explore the Archive
Listen, read, and follow the connections between voices. Each recording may speak to more than one theme.
Explore by Theme
Freedom
How people define, pursue, remember, and protect freedom.
Migration & Diaspora
Movement across generations, family migration, the Underground Railroad, and the broader African American diaspora.
The Underground Railroad
Historical scholarship, routes, people, places, and community knowledge connected to freedom seeking.
Land & Calumet
The relationship between landscape, waterways, community, history, and Sand Ridge Nature Center.
Memory & Family
Stories passed between generations and preserved through families and communities.
Belonging
Reflections on identity, home, resilience, safety, and connection.
01
Listen to the Archive
Historical lectures, storytelling, performances, poetry, spoken word, Juneteenth reflections, and community interviews connect this collection through sound.
Recording Index
Titles, contributor names, and durations are reproduced from the public album. Individual links open the recording on Bandcamp; you can also listen using the player above.
- Mama Edie Stories of the Diaspora (pt. 1)
- Mama Edie Story of the Diaspora (pt. 2)
- Dr. McClelan Underground Railroad Lecture
- Mama Edie Story Walk at Sandridge Nature Center
- Rodney Harrington Poem
- Rodney Harrington Introduction
- Ronnie Bullock (Community Interview)
- Rodney Harrington (Community Interview)
- Jorge Garcia (Community Interview)
- Marguerite Griffin (Community Interview)
- Tom Shepherd (Community Interview)
- Ryan Sinwelski (Community Interview)
- Tric Mashak (Community Interview)
- Evelyn Nabors (Community Interview)
- Anita Boyd (Community interview)
- Penny Shnay (Community Interview)
- Bertha, Linda, and Margo (Community Interview)
- Tammie Woods (Community Interview)
- Xavier Covens (Youth Interview)
- Santana Jones (Youth Interview)
- Jonathan Pineda (What is Freedom)
- Lankeeda Ruth (Letter to Ancestor)
- Freedom Routes & Quinn Chapel (Community Interview)
Full transcripts will be added here when available for public access.
02
History, Storytelling & Interpretation
Explore longer educational recordings that connect historical scholarship with storytelling and community knowledge.
Underground Railroad Lecture
Listed on Bandcamp with Dr. Larry McClelan and Lana Lewis. Duration: 1 hour, 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
- Dr. McClelan Underground Railroad Lecture · 01:02:30
Storytelling & Performance
Stories, poetry, spoken word, and performances offer further ways to encounter the histories and reflections within this archive.
03
History Lives in Community
This archive does not only document formal historical interpretation. It also preserves the voices of community members reflecting on Sand Ridge Nature Center, the Calumet region, family history, migration, freedom, and personal connections to place.
- Ronnie Bullock (Community Interview) · 08:21
- Rodney Harrington (Community Interview) · 15:24
- Jorge Garcia (Community Interview) · 11:52
- Marguerite Griffin (Community Interview) · 04:23
- Tom Shepherd (Community Interview) · 12:12
- Ryan Sinwelski (Community Interview) · 10:19
- Tric Mashak (Community Interview) · 07:46
- Evelyn Nabors (Community Interview) · 07:45
- Anita Boyd (Community interview) · 07:54
- Penny Shnay (Community Interview) · 08:21
- Bertha, Linda, and Margo (Community Interview) · 05:41
- Tammie Woods (Community Interview) · 05:08
- Xavier Covens (Youth Interview) · 02:26
- Santana Jones (Youth Interview) · 03:08
- Freedom Routes & Quinn Chapel (Community Interview) · 07:27
04
Letters to Freedom
As part of the project, community members were invited to reflect on history through writing. Participants responded to prompts about ancestry, freedom seeking, migration, and the meaning of freedom today.
Letter to an Ancestor
Write to an ancestor, family member, or someone from the past who traveled, migrated, or fought for freedom.
Letter to a Freedom Seeker
Imagine writing to someone traveling the Underground Railroad. What encouragement, hope, or guidance would you offer?
What Does Freedom Mean to You?
Reflect on what helps you feel free, safe, connected, or at home.
Recorded Reflections
Written versions and selected letters will be added as they are approved for public access.
Make a booking · 60-minute workshop
Bring These Stories to Your Community
A one-hour workshop exploring the power of storytelling, the history of the Underground Railroad, and our own connections to freedom, ancestry, and place.
Participants listen to selections from the archive, reflect together, and write an empowering letter to an ancestor, a freedom seeker, or their future self. Sharing is optional.
Tell us about your group, preferred date, location, and access needs. We’ll discuss workshop details and fees before confirming your booking.
A glimpse of the project
Community, Place & Story
Watch a short reel from the project, then continue exploring the voices and stories in the archive.
29-second reel · Press play to watch.
A living archive
The Archive Continues
Sounds of the Underground Railroad is intended to remain an evolving educational resource rather than ending with the original project period.
The archive creates a foundation for future Underground Railroad education at Sand Ridge Nature Center and beyond.
Future possibilities may include:
- Permanent listening stations
- Rotating interpretive exhibitions
- QR-based trail experiences
- Educational curriculum
- Classroom resources
- Community storytelling programs
- Podcast and audio documentary production
- Additional oral histories
- Year-round Underground Railroad programming
Project Partners
- Produced by
- Creative Capitol Agency
- In partnership with
- Forest Preserves of Cook County
Sand Ridge Nature Center
Solidarity Studios - Historical and community collaboration
- Midwest Underground Railroad Network
African American Genealogical Society of Chicago
Harvey Historical Society
Windy City Bird Lab
The archive brings together individual voices and interpretations. Participation does not imply endorsement of every historical interpretation by every contributor or partner.
Listen. Read. Remember.
History is not only held in books and museums. It lives in voices, families, landscapes, and communities.
Sounds of the Underground Railroad · A Community Audio Archive from Sand Ridge Nature Center