SHINIQUE SMITH

For thousands of years,

celestial way finding knowledge—navigating by observing the stars and other night sky patterns—passed from culture to culture, generation to generation. For slaves that did not know how to read or write, "reading" the night sky provided important clues for survival.

Stories of the Underground Railroad tell us that ’following the drinking gourd’ to the North Star played a key role in helping slaves to find their way—a beacon to true north and freedom.