(20 ILCS 864/20)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2037)

Sec. 20. Online database and educational programs.

(a) The Commission shall create a publicly available website that includes educational material concerning freedom seekers' journeys on the portions of the Underground Railroad in this State, including:

(1) an updated database of freedom seekers and their journeys to and through Illinois;

(2) an updated map of the geography of the Underground Railroad in Illinois; and

(3) a biographical dictionary of key persons identified with the Underground Railroad in Illinois, including freedom seekers, abolitionist allies, and pro-slavery antagonists.

(b) The Commission, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall develop and implement an educational program to be made available to every public school in this State. The educational program shall include instruction on:

(1) events of African American history, including the African slave trade, slavery in the United States, and the vestiges of slavery in this country;

(2) the journeys of freedom seekers and the Underground Railroad in Illinois; and

(3) additional resources and activities to be used in February as part of Black History Month.

(c) The Commission shall identify scholars in higher education and community-based organizations to engage in research and to be recruited into a speakers' bureau on the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery activity in Illinois.

(d) The Commission shall support and publicize local activities in this State that focus on the Underground Railroad, including offering exhibits at meetings of organizations open to spreading knowledge about abolitionism and the Underground Railroad. The Commission shall focus on supporting organizations in African American communities, including assisting members of those communities undertake research related to the history of their communities.

(Source: P.A. 104-113, eff. 8-1-25.)