While many books have been written on the subject, there is very little visual documentation of the Underground Railroad because of its secretive nature. Photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales spent more than a decade meticulously researching how enslaved people escaped to freedom. The path she documented encompasses roughly 2,000 miles and is based off of actual sites, cities, and places. From the cotton plantations south of Natchitoches, Louisiana, all the way north to the Canadian border, this collection of photographs helps us imagine what the long road to freedom may have looked like. The Underground Railroad united people from different races, genders, social levels, religions, and regions in a common and worthwhile cause. Today, as America becomes more diverse, Michna-Bales believes that an understanding of the experience - and those who lived through it - is more relevant than ever.