What We Do

Official Network to Freedom Logo

NPS Photo

Network to Freedom’s mission is to honor, preserve and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight. Underground Railroad History continues to inspire people worldwide. Through its mission, the Network to Freedom advances the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression. The program is a catalyst for innovation and partnerships that share the diverse legacy of the Underground Railroad across generations.

The program works in collaboration with local, state and federal entities, as well as individuals and organizations to create a “network” of sites, facilities, and programs with a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad.

• Sites - Locations with a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad. Sites are not limited to safehouses – but rather to any location connected to a freedom seeker’s journey. This includes but is not limted to: court cases that challenged issues of escape and flight; kidnapping sites; churches; Maroon communities, etc.

• Programs - educational and interpretive programs that pertain to the Underground Railroad

• Facilities - either research, educational or interpretive centers.

Together, sites, programs, and facilities are referred to as Network to Freedom Listings. The people that manage these sites, programs, and facilities are known as Network to Freedom Members. Currently, the Network to Freedom consists of over 700 listings in 39 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Network to Freedom Program also manages the National Park Service's Underground Railroad subject site. To learn more about what the Network to Freedom does, please visit that website.