Let Us Honor and Celebrate Women

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in collaboration with the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, will kick-off Women’s History Month with a production of We Will Rise:  Selections from The Afghan Women’s Writing Project. This coming Saturday is International Women’s Day and the birth date of Harriet Tubman, therefore it’s very appropriate to have this production held for a limited run, March 7 and 8, in the Harriet Tubman Theater at the Freedom Center.

The Afghan Women’s Writing Project is aimed at allowing Afghan women to have a direct voice in the world and provides tools, training and an outlet to share their stories. Many of the Afghan women have to make extreme efforts to gain access to a computer to submit their writings. Most of the submissions are done in secret—few details are known about how the writers submit their stories.  Tickets for this production can be purchased at knowtheatre.com.

On March 13, 2014 at 6:00pm the Freedom Center is holding a free public program, If Not For Women.  This program will feature the remarkable story of Lucy Higgs Nichols Nichols, a runaway slave who joined the 23rd Indiana as a regiment nurse, will be portrayed by Judith C. Owens-Laude.  Judith is an author, dramatist, educator, folklorist, and storyteller from Louisville, Kentucky.  This outstanding dramatic performance will be followed by a discussion about the contributions of women from the Civil War to Civil Rights.  This discussion will be led by Dr. Christine Anderson, Associate Professor at Xavier University, and Dr. Holly McGee, Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati.

Join me in honoring and celebrating women at the Freedom Center and learn more about their brilliance and courage!

Christopher Miller, Manager of Program Initiatives

Unknowing Heroes

My favorite quilt in NURFC’s And Still We Rise exhibit is Syvia Hernandez's quilt, Birmingham Bombing. Hernandez's quilt commemorates the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, September 15, 1963, and the four girls whose lives became the sacrifice that brought Birmingham to finally face the consequences of its evil actions.

Things in Birmingham had been bad for a very, very long time, but the status quo was also very, very good at hiding that fact from the world. Birmingham was a closed city, hostile to “outsiders” and “agitators,” almost as much as it was hostile to its own poor and African-American citizens. But the horrific death of four girls, on a beautiful church Sunday -- very literally sacred time, especially in this Bible Belt town -- shattered that insulation and the beginning of the end of institutional segregation in Birmingham, and, within a year, the United States, brought about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Without the deaths of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, Birmingham likely could have continued to violently oppress its citizens for many years; it was the women, in this case teenage girls, who brought the fight into the light.

In the historic fight for abolition of slavery, women were at the forefront, likening their own struggle for rights to that struggle for freedom of the enslaved African-American population. They were in a unique position to point out to those in power, often in their own homes, the moral repugnancy of “owning” another human being, of using someone else’s powerlessness to make yourself more powerful. In the same way, the women of the South led the way in the Civil Rights Movement, from Rosa Parks’ refusal to be pushed to the back any longer, finally to that horrible September day when the bombing in Birmingham finally went too far. The women knew that as long as one is enslaved or denied equality, no one can be truly free. We must keep fighting that fight today, reminding everyone that “until justice rolls down like waters,” until we are all free and equal in that freedom, we cannot truly call ourselves the “Land of the Free.”

Gina Armstrong

IMLS Coca-Cola Museum Studies Apprentice

In It To End It - So What Can I Do?

Have you seen the red Xs taking over Facebook today? Or perhaps you joined in and marked your hand with the X yourself. The End It Movement asked the anti trafficking community and its followers to shine a light on slavery by drawing a red X on hands on February 27th. That red X means that you’re telling the world that slavery still exists and you won’t stand for it. By using your influence and your hand, thousands are carrying the message of freedom.

What Does the Red X Mean?

The End It Movement asks individuals to use their voices to tell the world that slavery still exists in three main ways: Be the Billboard, Spread the Word, and Get the Toolkit. By supporting END IT gear you can advertise that slavery still existeverywhere you go.

Then by drawing that red X on your hand, you can tell your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers that slavery still exists using #ENDITMOVEMENT. People will start talking and asking questions when they see a sea of red Xs across their streams! Finally, head here to download the End It Movement toolkit. You’ll get a ton of digital resources to do a bunch of things with, like:

• Change your profile pics to the red X
• Print off a poster and leave it at your coffee shop on your morning java run
• Learn more about the slavery industry & tweet a series of facts, like:
  • The slavery industry rakes in an estimated $32 billion each year
  • The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24
  • In 1850, the cost of slave (in today’s dollars) was $40K; the average price of slave today is $90

What Else Can I Do?

Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about slavery because we don’t know what we can actually do to end it. Not everyone can leave careers and join organizations fighting on the ground – but we don’t all have to. Even if you only have a small amount of time, you can make a valuable contribution. Here is a list of easy ways you can get involved today:

1. Save the hotline number in your cell phone and call/text if you suspect something. 1-888-373-7888
2. Head to Slavery Footprint to learn how many slaves work for you. Then look at your shopping habits.
3. Check the labels of your coffee and chocolate to make sure it says Fair Trade Certified. If it doesn’t, commit right then to only purchasing from companies that guarantee their products are made without slaves.
4. Fundraise for organizations that are on the front-lines. Take your pick – there are dozens of great organizations working to assist those in slavery. If your budget is tight, then use your birthday as an occasion for others to give on your behalf.
5. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper that shows readers slavery didn’t end in 1865. Use the facts on the End It Movement toolkit if you need some evidence to beef it up – they share where each of their statistics came from.

Ending slavery is a challenge that’s been around for many, many years – but it’s one that this generation can implode if it takes it seriously. A red X won’t end slavery, but it raises the awareness of those within your circle of influence. Use that influence wisely, and then take real steps in your own life to address slavery.

We can end slavery in our lifetime. Be in it to end it.

Rare Book Exemplifies the Triumph of the Human Spirit

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is the home to a truly unique collection of artifacts.  These pieces of the past share stories of courage, cooperation and perseverance, the cornerstones of freedom movements throughout history.

Earlier this year, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center accepted a very important artifact into the Permanent Collection.  An early printing of the First Edition of the book 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup was graciously donated by longtime Freedom Center supporters Francie and John Pepper.

In this narrative, Solomon Northup, born a free man of color, shares his story of being kidnapped into a life of slavery.  Solomon was owned by three different men during his twelve years of enslavement, but he never lost the hope of finding freedom.  When the opportunity presented itself, Solomon courageously revealed his story to a white gentleman who outwardly opposed the institution of slavery.  He agreed to help by sending a letter about Solomon’s enslavement to friends in the North.  In 1853, Solomon regained his freedom and returned to his family in New York, a free man.  Solomon Northup published his original narrative in 1853, immediately after escaping from slavery.

Curatorial staff at the Freedom Center were thrilled to receive this rare copy of 12 Years a Slave.  The book is in excellent condition and can potentially be shared with visitors for years to come.  As staff work diligently to reveal stories about the triumph of the human spirit, this book serves as a vehicle for education staff to interpret the lives of individuals who experienced the horrors of chattel slavery in America.  Slave narratives like 12 Years a Slave teach us today that a single person has the power to advocate for abolition.

The book 12 Years a Slave is on display in the Hall of Everyday Freedom Heroes gallery.  Be sure see this historic book while taking the Solomon Northup Tour at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Cori Sisler, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions

Found in Collection*

*Found in Collection is a term used to denote materials not originally part of a large donation or that are undocumented. I’ll be using it to talk about interesting stories not necessarily able to be on display in the NURFC galleries.

Charles and Garnetta Lewis, World War II

In honor of Valentine’s Day, which just passed, I’d like to tell you about some pieces on display and in the archives of the NURFC collection that represent an epic love story the years could easily have buried. NURFC was fortunate to receive a large donation from the Victoria Retirement Center in 2013, containing about 800 items belonging to Charles and Garnetta Lewis of Cincinnati. In inventorying and cataloging these items, we realized that the bulk of the materials were letters written almost daily between Charles, a member of the Army Air Force during World War II, and his wife, while Charles was serving in training in the United States and with the India-China Transport Wing of the AAF during the last year of the war.

The thing that thrills me most about this collection is its ordinariness. Charles Lewis is not a celebrated war hero or even a particular trailblazer. He’s a normal man in a happy marriage, separated from the one he loves. He battles that separation anxiety and loss the only way he knows, by writing to Garnetta –- prodigiously. For every letter in the display cases on the third floor, there are four more in our archives! These are primarily Charles’ letters to Garnetta, who kept each of the letters through the many years between the war and the donation to NURFC. Though some of the letters are Garnetta’s to Charles, I imagine it was much harder for him to keep the bulk of her letters through the many moves required of him during the war, rather than Garnetta not writing to Charles as often as he wrote her.

The lesson I take from Charles and Garnetta’s story is one of perseverance and steadfast love, through the many obstacles life throws at us. Charles served during Jim Crow, and trained in segregated Georgia and Mississippi; yet, his letters are upbeat and focused on his love for Garnetta and his day-to-day life as a soldier -– his despair and frustration are with delays in receiving her letters or with not receiving them! We can all learn a lesson here -- love each other, no matter the obstacles, being solid in that love despite the battering the world gives us.

Gina K. Armstrong

IMLS Coca-Cola Museum Studies Apprentice

The Anti-Slavery Record

The Anti-Slavery Record  was an abolitionist series published for the American Anti-Slavery Society by R. G. Williams.  The monthly was published in New York and had a three year run from 1835 to 1837.  Issues of the Anti-Slavery Record were bought and read in huge numbers while in print.  With the intention of sharing anti-slavery sentiments with a broad audience, most issues included an illustration on the first page that depicted the evils of chattel slavery.

Pictured here is the unsigned illustration on the first page of the December 1835 issue of The Anti-Slavery Record.  This pamphlet is from the Collection of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

-Cori Sisler, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions

How Violence Plagues the Poor

Our friends at the International Justice Mission made an exciting announcement this morning. Their President and CEO, Gary Haugen, released his brand new book, The Locust Effect, which details the reality of brutal, constant, and unchecked violence that confronts most of the world’s poor.

At the Freedom Center we challenge and inspire people to take courageous steps for freedom by telling stories like Gary’s, as we did in our documentary Journey to Freedom. We tell these stories so people will be empowered to join with Gary and IJM, and others like them, in attacking injustices like the scourge of violence that greets the extremely poor at nearly every turn. We tell these stories because true freedom can only come when everyone can enjoy the basic protection from violence that most of the developed world experiences.

Violence & the Poor

Globally, the facts are stunning:

• Nearly 30 million children, women and men are held as forced labor slaves.
• One in 5 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape – and sexual violence makes everyday activities like going to school, gathering water, using a communal restroom or taking public transport dangerous.
• The truth is that that 4 billion people - that most of the world’s poorest people – live in places where their justice systems don’t or can’t protect them from these kinds of “everyday violence.”

Learn more by visiting Invisible: Slavery Today, the world’s first permanent, museum-quality exhibit on modern slavery, housed at the Freedom Center and developed with Free the Slaves, GoodWeave, International Justice Mission, and Polaris Project,

How can this be?

The Locust Effect gets to the most basic – and perhaps most shocking – point on page 36 of the very first chapter:

“The most fundamental systems of law and order (which communities in affluent countries consider the most basic public service) have been so useless for so long in much of the developing world that violent criminals preying upon the poor don’t give it a second thought – and tragically, much of the world has ceased to give a second thought to fixing or even understanding the breakdown”

Perhaps we’ve been lulled into a sense of complacency by the appearance of justice – by the mirage that is reflected off of the statue books and courtrooms we’ve come to associate with the Rule of Law. Gary’s book shatters the illusion and makes very clear the drastic consequences for the world’s poor.

We simply can’t accept the mere appearance of justice anymore, and The Locust Effect offers a guidepost on how to get started.

Check out this unforgettable video that shows what the world is up against as we work together to help our poorest neighbors.  You won’t want to miss the powerful moment at 1:48 - - our fight against poverty is worth safeguarding.  Click here to see the video.

Want more? Check out The Locust Effect, by IJM’s president Gary A.  Haugen, which releases today.

The Origins of Civil Rights In America: The Frederick Douglass Story

On Feb. 1, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will kick-off Black History Month with the Cincinnati Childrens Theater's production of The Frederick Douglass Story. In reverence of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the national Black History theme is Civil Rights in America. Though we should celebrate this great milestone, we should not forget that the fight for civil rights began before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  It can be argued that the early civil rights leaders were men like David Walker. David Walker’s Appeal, published in 1829, was a document that instilled pride within people of color and gave hope that change would come one day. He spoke against colonization, a movement that sought to move free Blacks to a colony in Africa. Walker believed that America belonged to all who helped build it, especially the enslaved.

The history of civil rights in America is largely the story of African Americans and people of color, defining themselves in the ongoing struggle to obtain the inalienable rights promised to all Americans. Walker’s ideas about America were handed down to many who become defenders of the oppressed and fighters of freedom, regardless of race and gender.  Frederick Douglass is part of this continuum of social justice and equal treatment. Douglass was a commanding speaker who compelled audiences as he toured America and overseas. Douglass is one of the most respected and iconic leaders in our country’s history. My favorite Douglass quote is, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.”

Douglass was a man who not only understood the need for freedom and justice, he also understood the necessary sacrifice in having freedom and justice. Through the tool of performing art, join me at the Freedom Center on Feb. 1, and learn more about the brilliance of a man who was an outspoken leader of social justice.  Click here for more information on tickets and performance times.

Christopher Miller, Manager of Program Initiatives

Historical Perspectives On Slavery

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center uses an expanding archival collection to gain valuable historic perspectives on the institution of slavery. After all, it is undoubtedly difficult for the 21st century person to completely understand many different aspects of 19th century life in America.  Historic newspapers, pamphlets and memoirs are just several examples of primary resources that paint a vivid picture of the horrors of slavery, the Underground Railroad Movement and the lives of abolitionists across the country.

One of the few, detailed accounts of the commercial slave trade by a participant was captured in the memoirs of Captain Theodore Canot, a slave trader for nearly three decades.  Originally written in 1854, Adventures of an African Slaver: Being the True Account of the Life of Captain Theodore Canot, Trader of Gold, Ivory and Slaves on the Coast of Guinea is filled with information on nearly every aspect of the slave trade in the 1800s.  The text details Canot’s extensive travels into the interior of Africa to buy slaves, the treatment of enslaved Africans on slave ships, the suppression of a slave revolt at sea, as well as financial tables that expose the expenses and profits of his involvement in the slave trade.

A 1928 edition of Captain Theodore Canot’s memoirs edited by Malcolm Cowley is on display in the From Slavery to Freedom exhibition at the Freedom Center.  In an exhibition space that is meant to commemorate those that survived and died during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, this book serves as a reminder that the historic institution of slavery functioned as a business that offered no sustenance to those it enslaved.

-Cori Sisler, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions