Join us for our next Fifth Third Community Day! Guests will receive free admission and experience special activities. Reserve your tickets online or in-person. Fifth Third Community Days are made possible through the generous support of the Fifth Third Foundation.
If you need accommodations or have any questions about our accessibility resources, please contact us in advance at accessible@nurfc.org.
Activity Schedule
Slave Pen Interpretation
2 p.m. | Meet at the Slave Pen, 2nd Floor
Join us for a participatory interpretation of our authentic Slave Pen. Spanish interpreter, Emily Spring, will be available to translate.
The Struggle for Freedom, Equity and Justice in Cincinnati’s Immigrant Communities
3 p.m. | Harriet Tubman Theater, 2nd Floor
When immigrants achieve the American dream, it creates a better America for all of us. Join us for a panel discussion on immigration into the United States followed by a Q&A. Panelists Rosanna Jiménez-Echeverría, Mamadou Moustapha Diop and Ibtisam Masto will speak about their immigration journeys, from obstacles to opportunities, and share about local organizations that advocate for and assist immigrant communities.
About the Speakers
Mamadou Moustapha Diop – Mamadou originated from Senegal West Africa. He has been in the United States since October 1999. He’s married and has four children. He attended college in Senegal and has a degree in sociology. He’s a member of the Immigrant Dignity Coalition and the Senegalese Association of Cincinnati. He’s been advocating for the immigrant community since 2007 with the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center. He has organized and participated in multiple immigration events in the Cincinnati area.
Rosanna Jiménez-Echeverría – Rosanna and her family came to the United States and to Cincinnati 22 years ago. Government corruption and death threats forced Rosanna and her family to leave Guatemala and seek political asylum in Canada, France and Belize, but the lengthy process and situation led them to apply for a U.S. tourist visa. They obtained political asylum in the U.S., then permanent resident status and eventually became U.S. citizens. Today Rosanna advocates for the Guatemalan and immigrant community. She’s a member of the Cincinnati Language Service Cooperative as interpreter and translator. She also guides people who have problems with workplace accidents or wage theft and educates them about how the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center can assist them in protecting their rights.
Ibtisam Masto – When shrapnel landed on her balcony one cold Syrian afternoon in 2013, just narrowly missing her three-year-old son, Ibtisam knew it was finally time to leave her hometown Idlib. After enduring months of fighting, bodies in the streets, no electricity, scarce food and a kidnapping epidemic, Ibtisam and her six children set out on a nail-biting, overcrowded bus journey to join her husband in Beirut. Ibtisam later found her way to Atayab Zaman, “The Delicious Past,” a culinary training program for female Syrian refugees where they cook to remember, just as much as they cook to survive. Through this program, she met refugee agency staff from the United Nations and with their help, registered her family for asylum and relocation to America. In May 2016, she learned that her application had gone through and that her family could relocate to Cincinnati. Ibtisam dreamed of having her own restaurant. She started working with the local nonprofit RefugeeConnect, then the FreshLo Chef Fellowship—a program that creates opportunities for those with barriers to start food businesses through education, connections and support. The program enabled her to start her own company—Olive Tree Catering—which proudly serves food at Findlay Market every weekend during market season and offers catering year-round from Findlay Kitchen. Through cooking, Ibtisam strives to empower herself and her community, and to tell her story of her beautiful home.
