Emancipation Proclamation & Thirteenth Amendment Exhibit Extended at National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jamie Glavic
(513) 333-7511
(513) 802-7355
jglavic@nurfc.org
Assia Johnson
(513) 333-7555
(513) 787-2110
asjohnson@nurfc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CINCINNATI, OH (June 17, 2015) – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced today that the exhibition of rare, original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment has been extended through July 24, 2016. The exclusive, limited engagement was originally scheduled to close on June 30, 2016. The extension is announced as Cincinnati prepares for the Church of God In Christ, Inc. International AIM Convention, the NAACP’s 107th Annual Convention and Cincinnati Music Festival this summer.
The Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment are on loan from David Rubenstein, managing director of The Carlyle Group. Mr. Rubenstein, who recently spoke about “patriotic philanthropy” at the American Alliance of Museums national conference in Washington DC, personally selected the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center as the temporary home for the two freedom documents from his collection.
The Emancipation Proclamation went on exhibit on the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth last year, June 19, 2015. The Thirteenth Amendment – a rare, handwritten copy of the document that once hung in the office of Speaker of the House, Schuyler Colfax – went on exhibit in January of this year. Both documents are signed by President Abraham Lincoln. More than 90,000 visitors have toured the freedom documents exhibit – making it the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s highest attended exhibit.
“We are so incredibly grateful to David, and his team, for allowing the extension of the freedom documents exhibit,” says Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, “I have personally witnessed families reading each document, line-by-line, connecting with two pieces of national history on a personal level. Our nation is still facing many freedom issues and social ills. These documents allow us to see how far we’ve come and how much further we have to go. The history of the Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment is just a relevant today as it was 150 years ago.”
The Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment will be on exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center through July 24, 2016. To learn more, visit freedomcenter.org.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in August 2004 on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have visited its permanent and changing exhibits and public programs, inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom. Two million people have utilized educational resources online at freedomcenter.org, working to connect the lessons of the Underground Railroad to inform and inspire today’s global and local fight for freedom. Partnerships include Historians Against Slavery, Polaris Project, Free the Slaves, US Department of State and International Justice Mission. In 2014, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center launched a new online resource in the fight against modern slavery, endslaverynow.org.