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New Center Encourages Ongoing Fight for Rights
Ed. Note: Bono is expected to attend the opening celebration for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center tomorrow, Aug. 23. If any readers attend the event and would like to share stories, please contact myself or HelloAngel.
CINCINNATI -- On the northern banks of the Ohio River, once the line between slavery and liberty, stands Cincinnati's monument to freedom.
It's a museum, a learning center and a research lab. By whatever label, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's main purpose is to inspire people to work for freedom around the world.
Ten years and $110 million after the concept was first proposed, the Freedom Center opens this month as the largest museum in the nation dedicated to telling the stories of the clandestine network that helped slaves flee to freedom.
"When the doors are flung open and the programs are initiated, there will be a feeling that we have moved to a new level," says Nathaniel R. Jones, presiding chairman of the center's board of directors.
Visitors can experience interactive exhibits and view films and historical artifacts that document the Underground Railroad. They'll also be prompted to examine their attitudes about freedom in the past, present and future.
"The effect will go far beyond Cincinnati," says Jones, a retired U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge. "There's a whole notion of advancing human rights."
Although the museum opened to the public on Aug. 3, the real party is Aug. 23 -- chosen for the dedication because it's the day the United Nations commemorates the international abolition of slavery. On that afternoon, thousands are expected for hours of celebration. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Oprah Winfrey and Bono have given their support and have been invited.
"I hope it brings understanding among people of different cultures," said Cincinnati Mayor Charles Luken, mayor at the time of the city's 2001 racial riots. "Cincinnati, like a lot of cities, needs a healthy dose of that. To have it on our riverfront is a wonderful statement about what we believe and care about."
Representatives from freedom organizations around the world have been invited to bring containers of soil from their sites to add to a park being built between the center and the river. Chandler B. Saint, president of the Beecher House Society in Litchfield, Conn., will be among those bringing soil to Cincinnati. His group preserves the childhood home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
"To finally see that building finished is going to be a profound moment," he says.
Executive Director Spencer Crew, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., hopes the Freedom Center becomes known as a place to exchange ideas.
"What we want is to become a safe house for conversation, and the way you maintain that reputation is to not take one side or the other," Crew says. "I hope people will say, 'Wow. This is different than I expected.' "
--Gannett News Service
Ed. Note: Bono is expected to attend the opening celebration for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center tomorrow, Aug. 23. If any readers attend the event and would like to share stories, please contact myself or HelloAngel.
CINCINNATI -- On the northern banks of the Ohio River, once the line between slavery and liberty, stands Cincinnati's monument to freedom.
It's a museum, a learning center and a research lab. By whatever label, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's main purpose is to inspire people to work for freedom around the world.
Ten years and $110 million after the concept was first proposed, the Freedom Center opens this month as the largest museum in the nation dedicated to telling the stories of the clandestine network that helped slaves flee to freedom.
"When the doors are flung open and the programs are initiated, there will be a feeling that we have moved to a new level," says Nathaniel R. Jones, presiding chairman of the center's board of directors.
Visitors can experience interactive exhibits and view films and historical artifacts that document the Underground Railroad. They'll also be prompted to examine their attitudes about freedom in the past, present and future.
"The effect will go far beyond Cincinnati," says Jones, a retired U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge. "There's a whole notion of advancing human rights."
Although the museum opened to the public on Aug. 3, the real party is Aug. 23 -- chosen for the dedication because it's the day the United Nations commemorates the international abolition of slavery. On that afternoon, thousands are expected for hours of celebration. Celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Oprah Winfrey and Bono have given their support and have been invited.
"I hope it brings understanding among people of different cultures," said Cincinnati Mayor Charles Luken, mayor at the time of the city's 2001 racial riots. "Cincinnati, like a lot of cities, needs a healthy dose of that. To have it on our riverfront is a wonderful statement about what we believe and care about."
Representatives from freedom organizations around the world have been invited to bring containers of soil from their sites to add to a park being built between the center and the river. Chandler B. Saint, president of the Beecher House Society in Litchfield, Conn., will be among those bringing soil to Cincinnati. His group preserves the childhood home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
"To finally see that building finished is going to be a profound moment," he says.
Executive Director Spencer Crew, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., hopes the Freedom Center becomes known as a place to exchange ideas.
"What we want is to become a safe house for conversation, and the way you maintain that reputation is to not take one side or the other," Crew says. "I hope people will say, 'Wow. This is different than I expected.' "
--Gannett News Service
