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Joseph Rodney: Freedom Seeker on the Illinois Central Railroad at Bloomington Public Library

Event Details

November 14th at 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive Street, Bloomington, IL

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This presentation will share the story of Joseph who was enslaved on a plantation in Mississippi County, Missouri, and of his escape to Cairo, Illinois, in 1855. Joseph dodged slave catchers while his enslaver, Thomas Rodney, followed him to Chicago. Joseph and Thomas met on the street outside the train station in Chicago, but Joseph was able to escape to freedom with the help of "friends" on the Underground Railroad.  

Thomas Rodney brought suit against the Illinois Central Railroad Company for selling Joseph a ticket in a court case that reached the Illinois Supreme Court. The significant decision of the court was that all persons in Illinois are assumed to be free regardless of skin color. Passengers on railroads in the state did not have to prove their freedom before obtaining a ticket.

This presentation will help the audience better imagine the flight of Joseph by viewing records of his enslavement in Missouri and photographs from his time of individuals and places significant to his story. Modern photographs help bridge the past with the present and help viewers connect with the story of Joseph, a freedom seeker. 

This free, public program is being offered jointly by Bloomington Public Library and the Museum on Saturday, November 14. The program will be held at the Library in Community Room 2 at 2:00 p.m. in person or available online via livestream on the BPL YouTube page. 

Our presenter, Darrel Dexter, is a native of Cairo, Illinois. He received B.A. and B.S. degrees in history from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and an M.A. degree in history with a teaching emphasis from Southeast Missouri State University. He was selected to participate in teaching programs funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities ("Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad" at Colgate University in 2013 and "Beyond Amistad: The African American Struggle for Citizenship" at Yale University in 2007). He was the recipient of the Illinois State Historical Society's Olive Foster History Teacher of the Year Award in 2011. He is the author, editor, or compiler of 33 books on Illinois history and genealogy, including Pulling Off the Sheets: The Second Ku Klux Klan in Deep Southern Illinois (SIU Press, 2024), Bondage in Egypt: Slavery in Southern Illinois (SEMO, Center for Regional History, 2011), and A Trot Down to Egypt: The Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Jonesboro, Illinois (P.A.S.T., 2008). He has also authored several journal articles. He is a retired high school history teacher and resides in rural Jonesboro, Illinois.

This is a companion program to the Looking for Lincoln travelling exhibit Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad, offered in partnership with the McLean County Museum of History. The exhibit will remain on display in Community Room 1 during all the library's open hours through November 30, 2026.

Questions about this program can be emailed to Sara or Marcie at reference@bloomingtonlibrary.org.

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This presentation will share the story of Joseph who was enslaved on a plantation in Mississippi County, Missouri, and of his escape to Cairo, Illinois, in 1855. Joseph dodged slave catchers while his enslaver, Thomas Rodney, followed him to Chicago. Joseph and Thomas met on the street outside the train station in Chicago, but Joseph was able to escape to freedom with the help of "friends" on the Underground Railroad.  

Thomas Rodney brought suit against the Illinois Central Railroad Company for selling Joseph a ticket in a court case that reached the Illinois Supreme Court. The significant decision of the court was that all persons in Illinois are assumed to be free regardless of skin color. Passengers on railroads in the state did not have to prove their freedom before obtaining a ticket.

This presentation will help the audience better imagine the flight of Joseph by viewing records of his enslavement in Missouri and photographs from his time of individuals and places significant to his story. Modern photographs help bridge the past with the present and help viewers connect with the story of Joseph, a freedom seeker. 

This free, public program is being offered jointly by Bloomington Public Library and the Museum on Saturday, November 14. The program will be held at the Library in Community Room 2 at 2:00 p.m. in person or available online via livestream on the BPL YouTube page. 

Our presenter, Darrel Dexter, is a native of Cairo, Illinois. He received B.A. and B.S. degrees in history from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and an M.A. degree in history with a teaching emphasis from Southeast Missouri State University. He was selected to participate in teaching programs funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities ("Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad" at Colgate University in 2013 and "Beyond Amistad: The African American Struggle for Citizenship" at Yale University in 2007). He was the recipient of the Illinois State Historical Society's Olive Foster History Teacher of the Year Award in 2011. He is the author, editor, or compiler of 33 books on Illinois history and genealogy, including Pulling Off the Sheets: The Second Ku Klux Klan in Deep Southern Illinois (SIU Press, 2024), Bondage in Egypt: Slavery in Southern Illinois (SEMO, Center for Regional History, 2011), and A Trot Down to Egypt: The Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Jonesboro, Illinois (P.A.S.T., 2008). He has also authored several journal articles. He is a retired high school history teacher and resides in rural Jonesboro, Illinois.

This is a companion program to the Looking for Lincoln travelling exhibit Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad, offered in partnership with the McLean County Museum of History. The exhibit will remain on display in Community Room 1 during all the library's open hours through November 30, 2026.

Questions about this program can be emailed to Sara or Marcie at reference@bloomingtonlibrary.org.