Gateway to Freedom - Satellite Oddity - Detroit, Michigan, USA.
N 42° 19.588 W 083° 02.637
17T E 331589 N 4688047
Gateway to Freedom - International Memorial to the Underground Railroad - featured on Virtual Globetrotting, the Satellite Oddity website. Sculpture dedicated to the migration of thousands of African American people escaping enslavement in the USA.
Waymark Code: WMRV0M
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2016
Views: 28
Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.
This human migration monument features six larger than life bronze figures, pointing and looking across the Detroit river border to Canada.
The 'Gateway to Freedom' is a sculpture dedicated to the migration of thousands of African American people suffering enslavement in the USA escaping to freedom in Canada.
"International Memorial the Gateway to Freedom to the Underground Railroad commemorates Detroit's pivotal role as a gateway to freedom for thousands of African American people escaping enslavement and finding freedom in Canada. This legacy of Freedom is a vital part of Detroit and its history.
Sculpted by Ed Dwight, the monument is collaboration between Detroit 300 and the International Underground Railroad Monument Collaborative and was dedicated on October 20, 2001." Source: (
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Until Emancipation, Detroit and the Detroit River community served as a gateway to freedom for thousands of African American people escaping enslavement. Detroit was one of the largest terminals of the Underground Railroad, a network of abolitionists aiding enslaved people seeking freedom. Detroit's Underground Railroad code name was Midnight. At first, Michigan was a destination for freedom seekers but Canada became a safer sanctuary after slavery was abolished there in 1834. With passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, many runaways left their homes in Detroit and crossed the river to Canada to remain free. Some returned after Emancipation in 1863.
The successful operation of Detroit's Underground Railroad was due to the effort and cooperation of diverse groups of people, including people of African descent, Whites, and North American Indians. This legacy of freedom is a vital part of Detroit and its history.