Gateway to freedom monument

The International Gateway to Freedom Monument was commissioned in 2001 and designed by renowned sculptor and astronaut, Ed Dwight as a memorial to the Underground Railroad. 

The work, which overlooks the Detroit River, includes a ten-by-twelve-foot sculptural group: eight escaping slaves and an Underground Railroad Conductor, who gazes and points towards Canada. Dwight modeled the conductor after George DeBaptiste, a freeman from Virginia who migrated to Detroit in 1846. DeBaptiste was an active abolitionist, Underground Railroad operative, and leader of the Vigilant Committee of Detroit, a watchdog and legal advocacy group for the black community.

Panels with engravings of quilt squares appear on either side of the figural group. 

Here, Dwight appears to be referencing one of the most popular myths surrounding the Underground Railroad: “Freedom Quilts,” objects said to have been created by slaves and hung in windows as coded maps or guideposts for fugitives slaves on the run. The base of the sculpture is embellished with engravings of lanterns resting in window sills.