06/19/2026
TONIGHT! Friday June 19!
The process, excitement and challenges of making stories like the Underground Railroad come alive during the Social Media Age will be the focus of a panel discussion to be held on Juneteenth, Friday, June 19 at 6 p.m., graciously hosted next door to the museum at Centenary United Methodist Church at 331 E. State Street in Jacksonville.
The event, which is free and open to the public, is being held in conjunction with the Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad exhibit currently on display at the Jacksonville Area Museum at 301 E. State Street.
Panel discussion participants include:
Dr. Brian Mitchell, a well-known African American historian, former Director of Research and Interpretation at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and currently the Center for Lincoln Studies Public Humanities Fellow at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Dr. Brittany Yancy, Illinois College professor of 20th-century U.S. History with a focus on social movements, urban radicalism, critical race theory, women's activism, and black women's political and intellectual history.
Kathryn Harris, former director at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and a first-person interpreter of historic African American women.
Ruth Linear, local historian and director of the Jacksonville African American History Museum.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Jacksonville Area Museum Manager Tori Ohl and museum board member and historian Chad Boehlke. A tour of the Underground Railroad exhibit at the Jacksonville Area Museum will be offered following the June 19 program.
Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad highlights the courageous stories of freedom seekers and the multi-racial conductors who assisted them on the Underground Railroad in Illinois. The exhibit is open to the public at the Jacksonville Area Museum through August 1, 2026 during the museum’s normal hours of operation: 10 am to 4 pm Wednesdays and Saturdays and 1 to 4 pm on Sundays.
Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad is proudly presented by The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, also known as Looking for Lincoln.
