Powerful Decade-Long Photo Project Retraces the Underground Railroad at Night

Photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales has dedicated the past decade of her life to researching and documenting the historical locations – both known and shrouded in mystery – that made up the historical Underground Railroad.

The resulting photographs make up her ongoing series Through Darkness to Light, and retrace the dark, unpaved path that thousands of slaves were forced to travel.

Finding these historical locations prove to be anything but simple. Along the way, she spent a great deal of time speaking with scholars from historical societies, listening to oral histories passed down through generations, and even reaching out to locals who were able to help her find many of the hidden landmarks that few had ever heard of, much less photographed.

Michna-Bales is almost always accompanied by family, friends, police officers and even her grandfather’s dog while she wanders out to the locations to settle down until dark. By waiting until dark, she more accurately captures what these locations looked like when the slaves were traveling through under the cover of night.

Her goal is to have this series finished up by the end of this year, but this is proving to be a challenge with 12 photographs still remaining of the 80 she hopes to include in a book and exhibition.

To keep up with Jeanine Michna-Bales and she completes this powerful project and embarks on others, give her website a visit by clicking here.

(via Feature Shoot)

Image credits: Photographs by Jeanine Michna-Bales and used with permission