National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Announces New Curator
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 (April 5, 2016) The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announces the appointment of Ashley Jordan of Mansfield, OH, to the role of curator. Jordan's appointment comes as the museum approaches the close of its 2015-2016 theme, "Stories That Must Be Told."
As an undergraduate student at Kent State University, Jordan was a member of the Ronald McNair Scholar’s Program. In 2008, she graduated with a B.A. in History with a minor in Political Science. Shortly after graduation, Jordan accepted a position as a Community Organizer through AmeriCorps. Upon the completion of her one-year service term, she accepted an academic scholarship to attend Howard University for her graduate studies in Public History where she received sound educational training as well as gainful internship experiences. Jordan has had the opportunity to work with the National Museum of American History’s African American Community Life Division; Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House; the National Park Foundation and Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit.
In the spring of 2011, she graduated with her Masters, but her commitment to understand and cultivate greater depths in the United States History prompted her to continue her studies. Thus, the following school year she entered the Ph.D. Program at Howard University. As a doctoral student, with an expected graduation date of spring 2017, Jordan’s topic of research is “Steeling Our Way to the Midwest: The Migration of African Americans to Ohio.” The scope of her study looks at the “push-pull factors” that caused many African Americans to flee to the North. The timeline of research begins with the Underground Railroad and concludes with the First Great Migration.
Prior to her arrival at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Jordan spent the last two years as the curator of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio.
“Ms. Jordan’s arrival to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center marks another exciting moment in our second decade of operation,” says Dr. Michael Battle, executive vice president and provost of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “Her experience and background, coupled with her passion and dedication to education and the preservation of history, will surely strengthen our institution’s reputation as a museum of history and of conscience. It’s an honor to welcome her to the Freedom Center family.”
To learn more about the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center visit freedomenter.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.
