Islamophobia – not in our Community!

Thank you, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, for making the Islamophobia – not in our Community! brochure accessible to the public.  Not since the aftermath of “9/11” have American Muslims as a group faced such unwarranted suspicion and outright bigotry as they have this past year.  They are concerned, and rightly so, for their civil rights and for the safety and well-being of their families.  We, too, should be concerned.  This is not a time for us to sit by and watch our fellow Americans, our Cincinnati neighbors, being scapegoated and maligned as Muslims have been of late.  We need to confront ignorant, prejudiced and hateful rhetoric, wherever it occurs.

We need to help educate the uninformed and inexperienced.  And, we must insist on honesty, fairness and social responsibility in our public discourse.  For, as history has taught us and the Freedom Center teaches us every day, bigotry in any form, anywhere, when unchallenged, can and will spread like a cancer to more and more victim groups until it reaches a point when no group is left un-implicated and unharmed.   Read this valuable brochure, learn from it, use it, and share it widely.  Then take the initiative to get to know your Muslim neighbors.  You, and they, will be glad you did!

Robert “Chip” Harrod, chief executive officer of BRIDGES

Supporting the LGBTQ Community After Pulse

It has been nearly two weeks since the attack on Pulse nightclub in Orlando and I have had a very difficult time putting into words exactly how this horrible atrocity has me feeling. Beyond the seething rage that defies description, there is something else.

I don’t feel safe. As Americans, we all feel this to some degree after the latest mass shooting in our country (how disgusting that I can say the words “latest mass shooting” to begin with). But let me be clear about one thing: I have not felt safe since having the realization at an early age that I was different and that my being different could mean violence against me was possible at any moment.

Before I go on, I would say to my young self in this moment to look to hope and love. I was told something I needed to hear this week and it would have helped me years ago. Darkness owns the sky but we always look to the stars. I would tell him not to be ruled by fear and that the very act of existing in his own skin and being who he is, is an act of quiet revolution. His existence can change the world for another like him in the future and make their path a little easier. It is okay to be afraid, as I am now, this will pass. I absolutely refuse to be ruled by fear.

Waking up that morning and being reminded that there are people in the world who would like to see me meet a similar end was terrifying. The LGBTQ community is incredibly vulnerable here in the United States and even more so abroad.  Disproportionately at risk are people of color and those who identify as transgender. These members of our LGBTQ family often bear the brunt of this violence.

Gay men and those suspected of being gay in Syria, are being hurled from multi-story buildings by ISIS extremists. Here in the U.S. trans students are now at risk of attack from their fellow classmates, (with the administration’s permission) for using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. In Uganda anti-gay laws have incited an increase in violence against us. In Jamaica, LGBTQ people face mob attacks, stabbings, death threats and, in some cases, murder. Throughout the world lesbians are subjected to corrective rape. In Russia LGBTQ pride parades are met with violence and anti-gay groups who place false dating profiles in an effort to kidnap and torture those who respond. All of this is recorded and uploaded to the Internet as a warning to the LGBTQ people of the world. These are just a few examples of the violence that our community faces every day.

We must press on and, whatever we do, we must not allow this most recent attack to drive a wedge between us, and our similarly marginalized brothers and sisters in the Islamic community. I entreat my LGBTQ family, and anyone reading this post, to not respond to hate with hate and to not judge an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. We are better than that. We live in a climate of fear. We are tired. We are angry. Despite all of this - we must remain strong.

The LGBTQ members of your community are suffering and they need you now more than ever. When you hear a slur, a joke, a derogatory comment, or anti-gay rhetoric, know that it directly contributes to a culture that has allowed this violence against us. To do nothing is to be complicit.

We all have a direct responsibility as human beings to help end hate. It is up to all of us to stand up and speak up. I refuse to sit quietly any longer. I hope you’ll join me.

Jesse Kramer, Art Director

Images: NYDaily News, WSBV-Atlanta

Here's Why We Should Not Boycott Roots

By now you may have read Snoop’s comments about the reboot of Roots and his call to boycott the series. His comments, which he delivered this week via Instagram—from his account that boasts a following of 10. 5 million users—has already driven numerous responses, including comments from the producers of the series reboot, Roland Martin & Levar Burton, the latter of whom played Kunta Kinte in the original 1977 miniseries. But Roots is much more than a story about slavery, it’s a story about the black experience in America.

So, here's why we should NOT boycott Roots.

1. History

It's important. In the 150 plus years since the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment, the latter of which abolished institutionalized slavery in America, never before have we been more equipped to tell the story of the people that endured the system and the subsequent atrocities that followed its end, by the descendants of those who endured it. Prior to the miniseries, stories about slavery and the Civil War in mainstream culture and media— print, film and music— were predominately told by Southern sympathizers, like D.W. Griffith and Margaret Mitchell, who romanticized the period and further perpetuated derogatory stereotypes of black people, diminishing them to caricatures. Roots was the first time that America’s dark history –from slavery to the contemporary issues of the day—was told from the black perspective, with strong, unapologetic characters like Kunta Kinte, to a prime-time audience.

2. A Brief History of the Black Image in Media

Roots was revolutionary—not in subject matter alone, but in presentation and representation.  The original Roots aired a little more than a decade after the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1965.  In an address at the National Broadcast Editorial Conference of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in July of 1964, the then president of CBS, Frank Stanton, called upon broadcasters to launch a "mighty and continuing editorial crusade" in support of civil rights. Albeit the call was initially was made to focus on blacks as the subjects of documentaries in alignment with Lyndon B. Johnson’s vision of the “Great Society,” the shows produced during this time period—The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show, Julia, Star Trek and The Mod Squad, to name a few—placed black actors in leading and supporting roles, introducing mainstream America to black culture and issues.

Prior to this shift, films starring black actors made by black filmmakers – Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams and James and Eloyce Gist—in order to contradict negative stereotypes, were suppressed by major studios, especially to Southern audiences. Films produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood that featured or starred black actors, such as Gone with the Wind, Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather, Imitation of Life and Pinky, were few and far between and mostly catered to white audiences, perpetuating archetypical “black” characters. The shift that Stanton called for in 1964 had already begun playing out in Hollywood with the arrival of Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Ruby Dee, Ozzie Davis and more, many of whom made the leap from theater to the silver screen. But, for all the progress made in front of the camera, there was still progress to be made behind the camera. The original Roots screenplay and series directors included Alex Haley and Gilbert Moses, co-founder of the Free Southern Theater Company whose establishment was part of the Black Theater Movement, in alignment with the Civil Rights Movement. Having black writers produce work for mainstream consumption was still considered a risky investment.

3. Something that "happened 200 years ago" ABSOLUTELY relates to contemporary issues.

When Roots aired in January of 1977, the nation was still recovering from the Vietnam War, civil unrest and economic crisis. The manufacturing jobs that drew southern black families north during the Great Migration began to dwindle in the mid-60s and were being outsourced to other countries where the cost of labor was cheaper.  But the burden of a national trend affecting cities across the country was disproportionately suffered by black and brown, working class families, as white families began moving out of cities (see white flight) to avoid the desegregation of schools and Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968—the Fair Housing Act—which prohibited housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. What does slavery have to do with this? Systemic Racism—Jim Crow, employment and housing discrimination, incarceration, the school- to prison pipeline, the wealth gap, the war on drugs and infant mortality all stem from the systematic stripping of constitutional rights established during the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877).  Roots is a saga—and it begins with slavery because that’s where the story of blacks in America begins.

4. Should we watch Soul Plane instead or nah?

You're right about one thing—we need more black stories in mainstream media. Stories and images that showcase who we are culturally and celebrates our diversity, because we are not a monolith.  Please!—make movies and media that tell multiple stories of a rich culture and diverse people. In the last decade, television has seen a resurgence of black characters in leading roles in the coveted prime time television spot. The rise of social media and streaming services has also provided previously unknown black actors, writers and producers— like Issa Rae— with a powerful platform in which our stories can be seen and consumed by the masses, jettisoning black actors and black stories back into traditional media outlets. Shows like Martin, Living Single, Girlfriends, A Different World and many more, have reintroduced the contemporary black experience to new audiences and a new generation of viewers. What’s more is that the characters are three dimensional, beautifully nuanced roles written, produced and directed by people of color. The creation of these complex roles provide more to mainstream media consumption than bland, unrealistic,  stock "black" characters, previously written by writers who knew nothing of what it is like to be black in contemporary America.

So yes, Snoop, I will be watching—well, streaming—because in a time where states are violating voting rights and where activists have to remind society that Black Lives Matter, it is extremely important that we go back to our roots.

Assia Micheaux Johnson, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator

Images: Roots (2016) Via History Channel, Still from Stormy Weather  via MGM and allposters.com

Comments on The Image of Harriet Tubman on the U.S. $20 Bill

The richness of American diversity and the multifaceted contributions to American democracy is making an appearance on American currency. Harriet Tubman’s image on the American $20 bill represents a recognition of the role people of color and women played in making the United States of American a beacon of hope for the world. Tubman is known primarily as an abolitionist, fighting against slavery, and as the matriarch of the Underground Railroad, navigating the route to freedom for persons bold enough to escape from slavery. She was also an indispensable part of the military efforts of the Union Army. Tubman served the Union Army as a cook, a nurse, a scout, and a resourceful spy who risked her life moving through the south gathering intelligence which aided the union cause. Tubman represents the depth of American liberty. About liberty she stated, “I would fight for liberty so long as my strength lasted.” It was most appropriate that when she died Harriet Tubman was buried with military honors. She was a solider for the cause of the Union of the United States. She was also a solider for justice, for women’s rights, for the rights of all persons to enjoy the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am particularly pleased that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who I had the honor of meeting when he served as Deputy Secretary of State and I served as U.S. Ambassador to the African Union, has taken the bold step in recognizing Harriet Tubman’s contribution to American democracy by placing her image on one of our nation’s most widely used pieces of currency. As Executive Vice President of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the home of the Harriet Tubman Theatre, I am hopeful that the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will be one of the places for a public unveiling of the currency and a public discussion of contributions to American democracy made by Harriet Tubman.

Dr. Michael A. Battle, Executive Vice President/Provost of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

In Memoriam: Remembering & Celebrating the Life of Mrs. Jackie Wallace

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center family is mourning the loss of a beloved colleague, friend and life-long educator, Mrs. Jackie Wallace. Her passion for the work of the Freedom Center was immeasurable and her love for the people she worked with was even more so. Mrs. Wallace was more than a co-worker – she was a dear friend, mother and caregiver to many. There are no words for the loss that is already felt in our hearts.

At this time, we ask that you hold Mrs. Wallace’s family up in your thoughts and prayers.

Reveal Stories: The 18 Black American Athletes of the 1936 Olympic Games

The Courageous 18: David Albritton

History remembers and celebrates Jesse “the Buckeye Bullet” Owens and his meteoric rise to fame after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. However, it seems as if history has almost all but forgotten the 17 other black American athletes, 15 men and 2 women, who competed alongside him. Coffee Bluff Pictures and filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper have not forgotten and are telling the stories of the courageous 18 in a new documentary, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, screening at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center February 3.

In the documentary, the film follows the lives and careers of the brave Olympians, including that of Alabama- born and Ohio- raised David Albritton.  Albritton set the World Record in the high jump with fellow United States Olympic Team member Cornelius Johnson at the 1936 Olympic Trails. Both Johnson and Albritton were the first African Americans to hold a world record in the event.

Albritton was born in Danville, Alabama and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he met his future Olympic teammate Jesse Owens at Cleveland’s East Technical School. Both would go on to attend the Ohio State University, where they enjoyed academic and athletic success despite the extreme racism and discrimination they faced, restricting them and other African American teammates to ordering carry-out or eating at blacks-only restaurants and staying in blacks-only hotels while traveling with the team.

Albritton would go on to win the silver medal in the high jump in Berlin, with a leap of six feet, six and three-quarters inches. Following the Olympics, Albritton returned Columbus, Ohio where he won two additional NCAA titles in the high jump category, in 1937 and 1938. While he was a student at OSU, Albritton received a working scholarship as a page in the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate that would later inspire his run for the House in 1960, where he served six terms in the General Assembly. While in the house, Albritton served on the Education, Insurance, and Taxation Committees and in 1969, he became the first African American to chair a House committee.

Following his graduation from the Ohio State University in 1938, Albritton began working as an industrial arts teacher at Dunbar High School in Dayton, OH. During his tenure at Dunbar, Albritton coached track and field where he led his teams to three state titles. Albritton was an entrepreneur and businessman who operated an insurance business for more than thirty years.

In addition to his contributions to civil service and the business community, Albritton served as a trustee of Wright State University where he successfully campaignedto have a street named after Olympic track star Edwin Moses. Albritton's achievements in athletics were recognized when he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1980, the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978, and the Ohio Sport Hall of Fame. Click here to watch the full trailer for Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.

Want the latest on upcoming special exhibitions, events and programs?  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @FreedomCenter and on Facebook, for more historical posts and images.

Assia Johnson, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator 

From the History News Network: Is African American History at Risk?

A recent post on historynewsnetwork.org by Dr. James Brewer Stewart provides insight on the possibly of African American History being at risk. Stewart, a Professor at Macalester College and founder of Historians Against Slavery, discusses the rich African American history that exists in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is home to various locations where African American history is heard, but not exactly seen. Community members have voiced their concerns about the lack of symbols for African American history within the city.

A group known as the Defenders of Freedom, Justice, and Equality have been at the forefront of the community, pushing for the pieces of African American history that lie within Richmond to be seen. Stewart goes on to discuss how the Defenders have planned an area of Richmond to illustrate African American history, “Were the City to construct the site as the Defenders have planned it, however, Richmond would be graced by a complex of exhibits, displays, reconstructions and memorials that would mark it as a distinguished example of how African American history can and should be presented.”

Stewart points out that Richmond currently has statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and J.E.B. Stuart. While Richmond does also have a statue of Arthur Ashe, local hero and admired tennis champion, the statues of Lee, Jackson, Davis and Stuart are significantly larger in size. The statues have been a focal point in the attempt to bring African American history to the forefront of Richmond’s culture.

For more information on what Dr. James Brewer Stewart has to say about Richmond, Virginia, click here: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/161629.

James Pate: The Ice Cube of Contemporary Art

The morning after the exhibit opening of Kin Killin’ Kin< at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, I drove to Dayton, Ohio to gain a deeper understanding of the images from the artist James Pate.  I had no intentions on expressing my thoughts, yet I felt compelled and moved to do so.  Being a child of the Hip Hop generation, I discovered several similarities between Pate and O’Shea Jackson, famously known as Ice Cube.

Ice Cube is often credited with shaping gangsta’ rap in the 90’s.  Nevertheless, his creative expression reflected the harsh realities occurring in many communities across the country.  I was 16 years-old when Ice Cube released his debut solo album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. This classic album is laced with ground-level views of urban communities that are vivid, often frightening, revolutionary and very personal.  The most intense and thought provoking track on the album is Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside), featuring Chuck D from Public Enemy.  This track reflects the social and systemic dysfunction that lead to homicides and the epidemic of gun violence which we still struggle with nearly three decades later.

James Pate was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where he attended the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. During his senior year he earned a scholarship to attend the Art Academy through a Corbett Award. Pate’s art education is mostly contributed to discipline, dedication, and consistent projects that refined his skills. Pate’s work has been exhibited in a number of select galleries and museums. Widely known for his idiosyncratic Techno-Cubism style which fuses realism with spatial abstraction.  Like Ice Cube, James is using his artistic abilities to address the consequences of gun violence.  And like Ice Cube, he’s unapologetic about his bold reflections of street violence and he’s very deliberate in making the viewer uncomfortable.  In the original 13 images of the Kin Killin Kin series reveal 26 guns and 38 isolated bullets.  The volume of guns and bullets are in conjunction of the volume of lives lost to gun violence.  Pate’s work is a self-described tantrum that reflect his love, concern and frustration.

Ice Cube followed his debut album with works that reflected his genuine anger and scathing commentary about society's ills.  In similar fashion Pate continues to work on pieces that address violence in hope of inspiring us to find productive and sustainable solutions.  The thing I like most about Ice Cube is his storytelling ability and James Pate is comparable in that way in regards to contemporary art.  Every image in the series as a story and a rhythm that triggers an emotion and renders you vulnerable.

Kin Killin' Kin is open now at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center through Saturday, February 13, 2016.  I encourage everyone to see the amazing artwork of James Pate and be moved to play a positive role in reducing the violence in our communities.

Chris Miller
Manager of Program Initiatives

Images: Artist James Pate in gallery and Your History.

International Human Rights Day: Cincinnati Honors Legacy of Helen Suzman

In honor of International Human Rights Day, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati will host a panel discussion with local women who have played meaningful roles in human rights advocacy today, Thursday, December 10, at 7:00 p.m.

Tonight’s discussion is named in honor of another great freedom fighter and advocate for human rights, Helen Suzman—a Jewish South African anti-apartheid activist and parliamentarian whose public criticism and opposition to the governing National Party’s apartheid policies made her an outsider and target. Suzman continued to speak out against the horrors of apartheid despite continued threats and harassment during her 36 years in parliament (1953-89), working with Nelson Mandela while he was imprisoned on efforts that would aid in garnering support for the victims of apartheid.

The panel will be moderated by Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp, rabbi and spiritual leader of Tempe Sholom in Amberley Village. Panelists include: Iris Roley, a freedom advocate for 13 years who designed and monitored Cincinnati Police Department reform as project manager for the Cincinnati Black United Front, Jennifer L. Branch, partner in Gerhardstein & Branch, the firm that won the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case, which held that the 14th amendment requires States to license and recognize same-sex marriages,  Dr. Catherine Roma, founder of several choirs including MUSE, Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, who has commissioned musical works across the barriers of race, class, sexual orientation, age, and imprisonment and  Marian Spencer, civil rights icon in the Cincinnati community who led the effort to desegregate Coney Island, headed the NAACP, served on Cincinnati Council and was at the forefront of numerous civil rights gains of the past half-century. Click here to RSVP for the evening’s event. Click here to learn more about HUC-JIR’s special exhibit, Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights, on view through January 24.

Want the latest on upcoming special exhibitions, events and programs?  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @FreedomCenter and on Facebook, for more historical posts and images.

Assia Johnson, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator 

Flame Friday: Artist James Pate

Happy Flame Friday! This week, we’re featuring local artist and Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts alumni James Pate. His series Kin Killin’ Kin, opening tomorrow at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, is a striking visual experience exploring youth violence in inner city communities.

“I was moved to use art as a means of illustrating this tragedy; complete with black brothers in pointed hoods creating acts of violence in the ‘hood,’" said James of his series. "Every piece that I complete is a way of accepting some of the responsibility for these acts of violence. Every piece is a moment of silence and dedication to the people who have had to deal personally with our losses.”

Pate’s self-described “Techo-Cubist” style uses charcoal coupled with techniques of illusion, shadow, juxtaposition, shape and perspectives. The concept of visually comparing modern day youth violence to Ku Klux Klan terrorism was sparked from ongoing conversations within the Black community, calling out the similarities between gang violence and the terrorism inflicted by the Ku Klux Klan. By combining the iconography of the Ku Klux Klan, the Civil Rights Movement and all too familiar images of gang violence, Pate places the viewer inside the acts and the conversation, demanding their attention and reflection on the challenges, causes and insidious nature of violence.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center vice president and provost Dr. Battle is looking forward to the response from the community, “We welcome the community to join us in constructive dialogue about youth violence-- a subject that is affecting communities across the nation. It is our responsibility as a national museum of conscious to present difficult stories that must be told in order to inspire action that will lead to positive change here in Cincinnati and across the country.”

The opening program for Kin Killin’ Kin  will take place this Saturday, November 14 at 11:00 a.m. in the Everyday Freedom Heroes Gallery and will feature remarks from NURFC president Dr. C.G. Newsome; James Pilcher, Cincinnati Enquirer; Anthony Stringer, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; and Artist James Pate.  The exhibit is included with museum admission and is curated by Willis Bing Davis Shango: Center for the Study of African American Art & Culture.

Want the latest on upcoming special exhibitions, events and programs?  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @FreedomCenter and on Facebook, for more historical posts and images.

Assia Johnson, Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator