Tickets are now available online for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s International Freedom Conductor Award luncheon honoring His Holiness, the 14^th Dalai Lama.

Registration for the event is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Duke Energy Center with the luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. on October 20^th.  The luncheon program will conclude at 2:00 p.m.  Ticket prices start at $125.00 and can be purchased on the Freedom Center website at: www.freedomcenter.org/dalailama. 

 “We are tremendously honored and gratified that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, will accept our Freedom Conductor Award, and we are pleased to invite the general public – and all defenders of freedom – to participate in this momentous occasion,” said the Freedom Center’s CEO and President, Don Murphy.

Previous IFCA honorees have included civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Height, The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and, most recently, in 2007, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

 The Dalai Lama will receive the IFCA honor, speak and answer audience questions.  For questions regarding this event please contact Jamie Brandt at 513.333.7598 or jbrandt@nurfc.org.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is participating in Museum Day 2010 on Saturday, September 25th. 

Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian Media in which participating museums across the country open their doors for FREE to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket.

The Museum Day Ticket provides free admission to one person, plus a guest.

• One ticket per household

• A ticket will gain entry in only one museum and only participating museums

• Only an official Museum Day ticket is eligible for free entry. Official tickets can be found here on the Museum Day website.

For more information be sure to explore the Museum Day website: http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/index.html

This summer marks the 50^thAnniversary of Harper Lee’s well-known novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”  On Saturday, to mark the anniversary, the Freedom Center is hosting a screening of the 1962 film of the same name, with Gregory Peck playing the courageous attorney Atticus Finch. A brief discussion will follow. For more information about the screening click here.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “What ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Isn’t” by Allen Barra, claims that Harper Lee’s literary talent does not measure up to Southern writers of the caliber of William Faulkner or Tennessee Williams. The general public — and teachers, who have made Mockingbird required reading in classrooms across the land — should stop praising the book as a “timeless classic,” Barra wrote.

Its bloodless liberal humanism is sadly dated, as pristinely preserved in its pages as the dinosaur DNA in “Jurassic Park.”

Barra also wrote that “To Kill a Mockingbird” lacks any moral ambiguity and quotes another reviewer as describing Lee as “an ungainsayable endorser of the obvious.” 

Is that fair? Is Barra correct in saying that the book is a sugar-coated myth of Alabama’s past that millions have come to accept?

I don’t think so.  What is sugar-coated about a town wanting to lynch an innocent man for a crime he didn’t commit?  What is sugar-coated about the hero, Atticus Finch, defending the African American man in question against the town’s judgment?  What is sugar-coated about the innocence of childhood being overshadowed by hate and prejudice?

I’ll never forget the first time I read “To Kill a Mockingbird”– I was 14 years old and to this day is one of my favorite books.  The book is still relevant and I’m of the personal belief that Lee’s novel is a must read for all Americans.

What do you think? Share your memories of reading this great novel.

The Freedom Center along with the Behringer-Crawford Museum, Taft Museum of Art, and others will be participating in the Museum Shops of Greater Cincinnati Showcase and Sale at Sharon Woods this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.  The Freedom Center will have fair trade merchandise, including some of our new Stop Traffick Fashion bags, books, and Freedom Center logo merchandise. 

For more information click here.

Join the Freedom Center for An Evening of Jazz & Art on Thursday, June 24 from 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.  The event, presented by the Freedom Center and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., will highlight the Freedom Center’s new exhibit Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition.  The evening will feature live jazz performed by Premium Blend, beverages, hors d’oeuvres, and professional networking opportunities.  Jennifer Moore of WCPO is the emcee and the guest speaker is Dr. Tammy Kernodle, Miami University Associate Professor of Musicology.

Admission for the event is $20.00.  Tickets can be purchased at: http://nurfcjazz.eventbrite.com/

Parking is available at the Central Riverfront Parking Garage with a daily rate of $4.50 (cash only).  For directions click here.

Thank you to An Evening of Jazz & Art co-sponsors: Mayor Mallory’s Young Professional’s Kitchen Cabinet, the League of United Latin American Citizens-Cincinnati, 100 Black Men of Greater Cincinnati, and the National Black MBA Association, Cincinnati Chapter.

On June 19, 2010 there will be a Junteenth Celebration in the Grand Hall of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  This event is free with the price of admission.  The celebration will begin at 12 noon and go on through out the day.  The walls of the Freedom Center will be filled with African drumming & dancing, dramatic readings, and storytelling.  In the evening there is to be a program in the Harriet Tubman Theatre.  The program will consist of praise dancing and dramatic spoken word.

The agenda for the day will go as follows:

12:00 p.m. - Juneteenth Recognition (A telling of the history and significance of Juneteenth.)

12:15 p.m. - African Drumming & Dancing

1:30 p.m. - Dramatic Reading (Children oriented)

2:30 p.m. – First-Person Interpreter (The life of Isaac Johnson)

3:00 p.m. - Junteenth Recognition  (A telling of the history and significance of Juneteenth.)

3:15 p.m. - African Druming & Dancing 

Later in the evening join us for the inaugural performance of The Triumph Dance Company at 7:00 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Theater.  Admission is $10.00. 

History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth originated as a celebration of the ending of slavery in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and 1,800 troops of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended and all enslaved persons were free.

The proclamation issued by General Granger General Orders, Number 3 announced:

The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer. . . .

That evening, thousands of people in Galveston celebrated their freedom with dancing, singing, and feasting. Today Juneteenth is celebrated not only in Texas, but in cities throughout the United States. It is a time for people to recount the events of the past and celebrate liberty for all people.

A section of the Berlin Wall is being permanently placed on a landscaped and lighted site near the main entrance of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. This gift from the City of Berlin to the City of Cincinnati is an enduring symbol of the triumph of freedom over oppression.

To celebrate this monument to freedom, the Freedom Center and the Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati are cosponsoring a dedication event on the evening of July 3rd, 2010.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets

Major League Baseball’s 2010 Gillette Civil Rights Game Weekend is back in Cincinnati for a second consecutive year.  And, just as in 2009, the Freedom Center is hosting the Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement roundtable discussion whose panelists display a decidedly local flair:  former Cincinnati Reds greats Joe Morgan and Barry Larkin and current Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis.

The Cincinnati pro sports celebrities will join comedian Mark Curry and tennis legend Zina Garrison on the panel discussion, which will once again by moderated by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree.  The roundtable will be held in the Freedom Center’s Harriet Tubman Theater on Friday, May 14, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. and it is free and open to the public. and will also be streamed live on MLB.com.

The roundtable is one of a series of events surrounding the actual playing of the Civil Rights game between the host Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals on May 15.  Prior to the 7:10 first pitch, Major League Baseball’s annual Beacon Awards luncheon, at the Duke Energy Center, will honor tennis great Billie Jean King, baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays, and entertainer Harry Belafonte.  Former Atlanta Mayor, Congressman and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young will deliver the keynote speech at the luncheon.  Proceeds from the lunch will benefit the MLB Urban Youth Foundation, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and the Freedom Center.

Donald Murphy, President and CEO of the Freedom Center, said the Civil Rights game and weekend offers the region and the nation a unique opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of those in the sports and entertainment fields who used their prominence to raise awareness of the need for strong civil rights enforcement.  “We’re genuinely pleased to host the Civil Rights Movement roundtable discussion once again,” Murphy stated.  “Last year’s discussion was entertaining, robust, and illuminating, and we can’t help but feel that this year’s roundtable will be equally as compelling.”

For more information or to purchase tickets to the MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon or the Civil Rights game, log on to www.MLB.com/civilrightsgame.

”Just say that I was a Drum Major for Justice…” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This Easter weekend, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will be honored at the 31^st Annual Drum Major for Justice Awards Dinner in Atlanta, Georgia, presented by the SCLC/Women’s Organization Movement for Equality Now, Inc.

In honor of the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the Drum Major for Justice Awards Dinner pays tribute to present day “Drum Majors” – individuals and organizations who have made major contributions to the cause of freedom, advancing equality, and achievement in their professional fields.

Donald Murphy, President and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, will accept the  “Keeper of the Legacy” Award.  Previous Drum Major for Justice honorees include Rosa Parks, The Original Tuskegee Airmen, Maya Angelou, Bill Cosby, and Oprah Winfrey.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized as a “Keeper of the Legacy” at the Drum Major for Justice Awards.  The purpose of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is to inspire people to action, in the spirit of the 19th Century Abolitionists, to pursue justice and freedom for all people,” Murphy said.

The SCLC/ Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now, Inc. (W.O.M.E.N.) was founded in 1979 by Evelyn Gibson Lowery, to champion the rights of women, children, families, and responding to the problems of the disenfranchised regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or religion.

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is seeking nominations for induction into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame.  As many as 10 nominees can be chosen.

Nominations are due by May 31, and the induction ceremony is slated for October 14 in Columbus.  More information and a nomination form are available here.

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission Hall of Fame was created in 2009 through the collaborative efforts of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission,Honda of America Mfg., Inc., Wright State University and the National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Due to the high volume of phone calls & e-mails received concerning the “Playground” screening the NURFC asks for you to send an RSVP to FreedomCenterRSVP@gmail.com to reserve your seat. We have a 300 seat theater and expect this FREE screening to fill up quickly.

The Freedom Center will host a free screening of “Playground,” the shocking undercover documentary film on sex trafficking in America.

The 1 hour-25-minute film will be shown at 6 p.m. on March 11 in the Harriet Tubman Theater.  The screening is free and open to the public, but seating is limited to the first 300 viewers.

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The Freedom Center’s new exhibition, Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America, opened today following months of behind-the-scenes preparation and training.  Reactions of initial visitors to the exhibition ranged from “overwhelming” and “important” to “emotionally and physically moving.”

The exhibit, which will be on display through May 31, features some 80 photographs taken at lynching events around the nation from the 1880′s to the 1960′s.  Some of the photos were used on postcards sent in the mail as if depicting a family outing.  Detailed information about the exhibit is available online here.

At a reception and preview event on the evening of January 18, some 300 people were told about how the horror of lynching reverberates through contemporary society in the form of hate crimes — such as the placement of nooses in offices, as a form of intimidation and disrespect.  But, as Freedom Center CEO Donald Murphy told the reception audience, “just as hate can pop up anywhere, like a weed, so too can the spirit of hope and reconciliation.”  Here is coverage of the preview event by our media partner, WKRC-TV, Local 12.

One clarification:  the Freedom Center is not restricting attendance to people over age 14.  We are strongly cautioning parents and caregivers that the images may be too intense for children.  Students coming to the Freedom Center on school field trips must be at least 14 to see Without Sanctuary, and they must have written parental permission.

Among the first to see the exhibition was a group of social media bloggers, who have begun posting their thoughts about how to extend the discussion of the themes of Without Sanctuary into the digital space of the Internet.  Their posts on Twitter can be found by searching #NURFC.