The Center for History is home to A Free Life, a 30-minute documentary exploring the history of the African-American community in the St. Joseph River Valley from the 1840s to the 1920s, with significant emphasis on the period of time just prior to the Civil War. A Free Life is the culmination of a three-year project initiated by the Center for History to fill what they perceived as a void in the information available about the history of the local African-American community.  In researching and writing the video, the museum staff relied heavily on assistance from area residents.

The Center for History was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for A Free Life.

The video tells about the Underground Railroad, especially within the areas of upper Indiana and lower Michigan.  “There was great difficulty in assimilating information to document the portion of the documentary dealing with the Underground Railroad,” states David Bainbridge, senior curator at the Center for History.  “Because secrecy was imperative for the success of this enterprise, artifacts to support the  story were found to be almost non-existent. Also, few first-hand accounts were recorded, because it was far too dangerous for those who had participated in the Underground Railroad to reveal information in a written form.  And, many who were committed to this cause did not speak of their efforts, it being enough for them to know they had ‘done right.’ Without this kind of oral or written history, the location of most Underground Railroad sites are unknown,” Bainbridge continues.

A Free Life also describes the Huggart Settlement, which was the first African-American settlement in St. Joseph County, Indiana, and the Fugitive Slave Case, which was a renowned Indiana court case involving fugitive slaves.

The video is available for purchase and is also shown in the Center for History’s Voyages Gallery, a permanent exhibit which tells the stories of the people of the St. Joseph River Valley.

A Free Life is narrated by television star Michael Warren, a native of South Bend. The documentary was underwritten by May Oberfell & Lorber and produced by Golden Dome Productions.