National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to Exhibit The Columbus Crossing Borders Project

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Press Release

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to Exhibit The Columbus Crossing Borders Project

MEDIA CONTACT:

Will Jones
(513) 333-7558
(513) 288-4834
wjones@nurfc.org

Kelly Anchrum
(513) 672-3702
kanchrum@ccswoh.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to Exhibit
The Columbus Crossing Borders Project

Exhibit Sponsored by Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio
Opens to the Public, Tuesday, June 26

CINCINNATI, OH (June 21, 2018) –The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will exhibit The Columbus Crossing Borders Project, sponsored by Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, from June 26-August 19.

“This exhibit comes to the museum as the nation grapples with the recent investigative reporting exposing the separation of families at our borders,” says Dion Brown, President of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “It is incredibly important that we host this exhibit that partners with organizations like Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, making the focus of every conversation – people. This international dialogue is an extension of our mission to not only challenge but inspire change.”

The Columbus Crossing Borders Project is a travelling art exhibit that includes the works of 34 artists responding to stories shared by refugees. A visual tribute to the resilience, strength, and courage of those who have survived incredible hardship within the migrant community, this exhibit inspires understanding, compassion and support. The United States has dramatically reduced the number of refugees allowed into the country from 110,000 to 45,000, and the U.S. is on track to admit just 21,000 refugees this year, according to data compiled by the Refugee Processing Center, a program operated by the Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. This would be the fewest number of refugees admitted into the United States since 1980.

“This exhibit sheds light on a humanitarian crisis we cannot ignore,” said Ted Bergh, Catholic Charities CEO. “We need to get to know the migrants who live with us. We need to hear their stories, share their journey and see migrants as our brothers and sisters.”

In Cincinnati, Catholic Charities is projected to resettle 230 refugees this year – a dramatic drop from 2016 when the agency resettled 333 refugees.

"As the refugee crisis is happening now to families like yours and mine, millions are forced from their homes and from each other, trying to escape the terror and devastation that few of us could ever imagine,” says Laurie VanBalen, Project Director of The Columbus Crossing Borders Project. “I’ve witnessed diverse groups of people coming together to share meaningful conversations and perspectives. And what always emerges as the most important element, is the responsibility that every one of us has to support and uphold our basic human rights."

The Columbus Crossing Borders Project, sponsored by Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, will be on exhibit from June 26-August 19. For more information about exhibits and programming at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 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

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