Arts & Entertainment
Illinois Author Has Spent Decades Detailing Underground Railroad History: ‘You’re Never Unqualified to Be Courageous’
At 92 years old, Glennette Tilley Turner is still telling the stories that shaped her life.
The author has spent decades researching and preserving the stories of Harriet Tubman and the freedom seekers. Turner’s fascination with Tubman began early in life.
“There’s so many things about her,” Turner said. “She really couldn’t read, she couldn’t write, and yet she knew how to navigate by the stars.”
WTTW News spoke with Turner in the Wheaton home she has lived in since 1968. She and her late husband purchased the house during a time when fair housing laws were reshaping DuPage County. She recalled how segregation shaped the community at the time.
“There had been a community here that one person they’d call ‘the hill’ and the other they call ‘the bottom’ because it’s down near the train tracks,” Turner said. “That had been the area that had been so limited to African Americans. There wasn’t even mail delivery, and the streets weren’t paved.”
Today, Turner has a lifetime of accomplishments. Her passion for history started years ago with her father, who sparked her curiosity.
“He loved to tell family stories and stories of African American history, particularly about inventors,” Turner said. “And he would end every story the same way. He’d say, ‘Now, when you grow up, you should write this down.’ So I just did what my father said.”
Turner became a second-grade teacher, and over time her interest in Harriet Tubman deepened. One conversation with a neighbor led her to investigate whether the Underground Railroad operated in Wheaton.
“I thought I’d go to the DuPage (County) Historical Museum and prove to myself there was no truth to this,” she said. Instead, Turner found enough evidence to convince her the history was there.
Her research eventually led to two books documenting Underground Railroad routes in DuPage County and the many sites freedom seekers traveled through in Illinois.
“It was very significant,” Turner said. “Illinois was quite pivotal not only in the Underground Railroad itself, but Illinois senators were involved.”
Her decades of work have earned her recognition. In 2023, the Illinois State Historical Society honored Turner with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and DePaul University awarded her an honorary doctorate.
“I really felt like a big girl,” Turner joked.
Turner’s latest book, her 13th, is a children’s book called “The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers.”
“I taught in my first life,” Turner said. “And I think participatory things are best. Actually, the Underground Railroad lends itself to just every aspect of the school curriculum: math, science, arts, just everything.”
Turner said her motivation to keep researching comes from a simple desire to keep learning.
“I want to know more and more and more,” she said.
Turner said her parents emphasized education and understanding the role Black leaders played in shaping history.
“It’s never too late or you’re never unqualified to be courageous,” Turner said. “There’s just something you can do, and you just keep trying to problem-solve.”
Today, Turner continues to shine a light on the past while encouraging others to keep seeking knowledge just as her parents and Harriet Tubman once did.
“I think we continue to have challenges,” Turner said. “Just how she used what she had to try to meet those challenges, we can all do that.”
Turner has even started a new business giving bus tours of the Underground Railroad in DuPage County.
