Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Dr. Theo Randall, associate professor of Anthropology, teamed up in April 2023 with Verge Gillam, the highly accomplished local activist better known by his nickname Brother Sage, to host a tour of historical sites in Michigan, with an emphasis on places of import for the Underground Railroad.

The participants for the bus trip included undergraduates, faculty, staff and community members. The itinerary took them first to Cassopolis and then further on to Marcellus, Schoolcraft, and Battle Creek.

In Cassopolis, the group stopped at the Sanctuary and Deliverance mural, a large, four-panel depiction of the events of the 1847 Kentucky Raid. The mural was conceived by local artist Ruth Andrews, and it was painted by Andrews and a team of volunteers in 2010. It sets four scenes from a scenario in which slave catchers from Kentucky attempted to reclaim nine African Americans who had escaped captivity.

“The citizens of Cassopolis told the slave catchers that they needed the proper permit – a bill of sale, really – in order to obtain the escaped slaves,” Randall says. The magistrate ruled in favor of the nine men, which was a rare court victory for the era. By the time the slave catchers returned, the freedom seekers had moved via the Underground Railroad to safe havens in Schoolcraft, Battle Creek, and finally Canada.

“The mural is there because in Cassopolis they are quite proud of that,” Randall says.

Another Underground Railroad site was the Bonine House, named for the Quaker and abolitionist James E. Bonine.

“The house is on a hill, so you can see for a great distance,” Randall says. “We could see how it would make a good surveillance spot.”

Although she traveled to many states, Sojourner Truth maintained houses in Harmonia and Battle Creek for the final decades of her life, encompassing the years 1857 to 1883. A 12-foot bronze statue commemorates Sojourner Truth in the city’s monument park.

Another highlight was Chain Lake Missionary Baptist Church, once the headquarters of the Michigan Anti-Slavery Baptist Association. Booker T. Washington was among the many distinguished orators who spoke there.

The bus was filled with young people learning about much of this information for the first time, but also noteworthy members of the South Bend community. Brother Sage’s numerous contributions over the years earned him the 2023 African American Legacy Award from the History Museum. Also in attendance were Charlotte Pfeifer-Gillam, a dedicated humanitarian and recipient of IU South Bend’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022, and Regina Williams-Preston, longtime South Bend Common Council member and currently with the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns.

The Michigan trip was designed so that the bus would be back in South Bend before dark, but Randall says that with proper funding, even overnight trips could be offered in the future. There are many more sites in Michigan, and Randall envisions similar excursions to areas around Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago and Springfield, Ill.

“We could do something like this every year – even twice a year – and we could take it further still,” Randall says. “All it takes is getting the funding.”

To suggest ideas for future trips or for further information, contact Professor Randall at thrandal@iu.edu or contact the Black Student Union at titanatlas.iusb.edu/organization/blackstudentunion.