The Underground Railroad Statue

Because of its proximity to Canada and the fact that Canada did not allow slavery, Detroit was an important passing ground for escaped slaves heading to Canada.  Even though Michigan was not a slave state and slavery was illegal in Michigan, that didn't mean that slave owners couldn't recover slaves that were found in Michigan.  So many of them would head over to Canada and freedom.

 This is actually a pretty moving statue when you think of its implications.  Then you factor in the risks that were taken in order to reach Canada and the risks taken by the people to help get them there.  As you look at the faces, you see a multigenerational family that took the trek from somewhere.

 For this shot, I tried to frame the statue in the trees.

 The man is pointing towards Canada (although it looks like he is pointing towards the casino in Windsor.

 A closeup of one of the faces.  By this point of the journey, you would be fairly tired.

 And the son excited to see the new land.

 I really like this statue.

 "And over there is a strip club, a couple doors down is a caberet...and there is also a casino over there."

 The light of freedom?

 The front of the statue.

 One of the tools used to guide the slaves were quilts hung in some windows.  They would tell the directions and any dangers around.

Another quilt.

And one more shot of the statue.