The Triumph Dance Company (TDC) of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and local Cincinnati-based churches are joining together to present “Suite Dance of Freedom,” an afternoon of inspirational music, praise dancing and stirring spoken word that celebrate the importance of freedom.

“Suite Dance of Freedom” takes the audience on an up, close and personal tour of the journey to freedom, beginning from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement to contemporary times of today,” states Artistic Co-Director, Charlotte LaNiear. “The spirit-filled performance features a dance repertoire that aspires to be as great as that of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company and Dance Theatre of Harlem, and amidst the dancing are riveting spoken word interludes and music across many genres including old negro spirituals to contemporary gospel sung by the likes of Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Mahalia Jackson to name a few,” adds Artistic Co-Director, Glendora Wilson.

The one hour praise dance experience features seven distinct numbers, including Oh Freedom, a light-hearted piece that takes place on the set of a slave plantation and provides a sneak peek into the freedom felt by slaves when their master is absent, but just a taste of their dream for true freedom; Precious Lord a powerful and tear-jerking duet to the familiar gospel tune and personal testimony of faith in deliverance; a variety of small ensemble dances including Swing Low Sweet Chariot, We Shall Overcome, How I Got Over and a children’s rendition of Oh Happy Day; as well as the uplifting finale Power Praise (Let Our God Arise Reprise), which features the entire cast in a non-stop praise fest that leaves the audience standing on its feet, cheering for more. 

“We are continually looking for innovative ways to reach new audiences and to fulfill our mission to reveal stories about freedom’s heroes, from the era of the Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today,” said Alphonzo Wesson of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  “Therefore we are pleased at the addition of the Triumph Dance Company to our Music & Arts initiative and overjoyed to be working with the local church, such an instrumental partner in keeping the fight for freedom and justice alive.  “Suite Dance of Freedom” is just the beginning.”

“Suite Dance of Freedom” will take place on Saturday, August 21^st at 3 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman theatre of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way in downtown Cincinnati.  Tickets are $15 a person, including admission to the matinee and a post-show reception where attendees have an opportunity to meet the cast over light refreshments.  Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by members of the Triumph Dance Company or at any of the following local establishments: Iris Book Café (1331 Main Street) and MIXX Ultra Lounge (1203 Main Street).

Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West

Television host Tavis Smiley and historian Dr. Cornel West will join musician and entertainer Bootsy Collins Saturday at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for what promises to be a lively discussion of the cultural impact of African American music.

The trio’s presentation, which is free, will be in the Freedom Center’s 300-seat Harriet Tubman Theater from 2 – 4 pm.  Radio One’s Faith Daniels will moderate the discussion. Smiley will speak about African-American Music from the broader pop cultural standpoint; and Dr. West will provide historical context.

Smiley’s exhibition on African-American culture, “America I Am,” is currently showing at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  Smiley and West will hold a forum about that exhibition at 10 Saturday morning at the Museum Center, before coming to the Freedom Center for their conversation with Collins.

The event with Smiley, West and Collins provides the perfect accompaniment to the Freedom Center’s Textural Rhythms exhibition, a jazz inspired quilt exhibit, said the Freedom Center’s community programs manager, Charles Davis.

“All in one weekend, you have a well-known cultural critic and observer in Tavis Smiley, a high profile historian in Dr. Cornel West, and a Cincinnati musical icon in Bootsy Collins coming together at the Freedom Center to talk about music, at the same time we’re offering an exceptional exhibition on jazz and quilting – and with the Jazz Festival in town,” Davis said.  “You can hardly beat that!”

This program is free and open to the public.  Seating is first come, first serve.  You must pay admission to tour the Freedom Center or view our current exhibition Textural Rhythms.

Tickets are now available online for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s International Freedom Conductor Award luncheon honoring His Holiness, the 14^th Dalai Lama.

Registration for the event is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Duke Energy Center with the luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. on October 20^th.  The luncheon program will conclude at 2:00 p.m.  Ticket prices start at $125.00 and can be purchased on the Freedom Center website at: www.freedomcenter.org/dalailama. 

 “We are tremendously honored and gratified that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, will accept our Freedom Conductor Award, and we are pleased to invite the general public – and all defenders of freedom – to participate in this momentous occasion,” said the Freedom Center’s CEO and President, Don Murphy.

Previous IFCA honorees have included civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Height, The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and, most recently, in 2007, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

 The Dalai Lama will receive the IFCA honor, speak and answer audience questions.  For questions regarding this event please contact Jamie Brandt at 513.333.7598 or jbrandt@nurfc.org.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is proud to present Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition, Contemporary African American Quilts.  This unique exhibition, curated by Carolyn Mazloomi, Founder and Coordinator of The Women of Color Quilters Network, opens on June 15, 2010 and will run through August 14, 2010.

Textural Rhythms unites the two most well known and popular artistic forms in African American culture—jazz and quilts. The exhibition of 64 quilts includes work from some of America’s best known African American quilters such as Michael Cummings, Ed Johnetta Miller, Tina Brewer, and Jim Smoote.     

Just as the varied styles of jazz cause listeners to respond differently, the quilts of Textural Rhythms persuade us to salute the bonding of two worlds, jazz and quilts, in a distinguished combination of cultural tradition, sophistication, and panache.  Irregardless of technique – unpretentious folk, intricate appliqué, conventional piecing, or complex montage, these quilt artists have harnessed in cloth, the spirit of jazz through meticulous reflections of the souls of jazz folk and the music that sways us.           

“No viewer will hear jazz with quite the same ear after an encounter with Textural Rhythms,” said Freedom Center President and CEO Don Murphy in announcing the new exhibit.  “Our understanding of quilting and jazz artistry, our viewing and listening pleasure, together, are transformed through the phenomenal marriage between jazz and quilting represented in Textural Rhythms.”

The showing here at the Freedom Center is part of a national tour over a two and a half year period containing approximately sixty-four quilts from fifty five artists of the Women of Color Quilters Network. The exhibition was curated by Carolyn Mazloomi and was developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, an exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, Missouri.

Richard and Lois Rosenthal

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced today that it will have a new gallery housing a permanent exhibit on contemporary slavery, thanks to a generous gift from Lois and Richard Rosenthal.

The new gallery space, comprising approximately 3,000 square feet, is on the third floor of the Freedom Center’s east wing. After renovations to the area over the summer, the space will re-open as the “Lois and Richard Rosenthal Gallery of Contemporary Slavery.”   It will be the permanent location for the Freedom Center’s expanded “Invisible: Slavery Today” exhibit on modern forms of slavery — the first of its kind in the world.

“We are pleased to make this gift in support of the Freedom Center’s mission of education and awareness, especially its focus on bringing attention to conditions of slavery in the world today,” said Lois Rosenthal.

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L.A. Reid

Influential music executive and Cincinnati native Antonio “L.A.” Reid will be at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on Sunday, February 21, to participate in a discussion on how his entrepreneurial success is connected to the African American rise from slavery to freedom.  His appearance, at 1:30 in the Harriet Tubman Theater, is free and open to the public.

Forgoing the typical speech format, Reid will engage in a discussion with 101.1 The WIZ’s Jade West, and then answer questions from the audience.  Seating is limited to 300, and reservations are required.  To RSVP send an e-mail to FreedomCenterRSVP@gmail.com.

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The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced today that His Holiness, the 14^th Dalai Lama, will accept the International Freedom Conductor Award (IFCA).

The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his unstinting advocacy of freedom for his native Tibet, will be honored at a lunch at the Duke Energy Center on October 20th, said Freedom Center CEO & President, Donald W. Murphy.

“We are tremendously honored and gratified that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, will accept our Freedom Conductor Award, which goes to individuals and organizations that have been conspicuous and effective champions of freedom,” Murphy said.  “The Dalai Lama’s tireless efforts on behalf of Tibet – and his life-long advocacy of freedom and peace for all people — are in the finest traditions of those abolitionists who fought for the eradication of slavery in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries.” 

Previous IFCA honorees have included civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu and, most recently, in 2007, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, for their joint work in raising donations for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the South Asian tsunami.

 The Dalai Lama will receive the IFCA honor, speak and answer audience questions at a luncheon event at the Duke Energy Center.  Additional details about arrangements, tickets, etc., will be released later, Murphy said.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in northeastern Tibet.  In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949.  But following the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops in 1959, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile.  Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile.

In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet.  He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.
 
Since 1959 His Holiness has received more than 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion.  His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.

The Hispanic Chamber, in partnership with BRIDGES for a Just Community and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, announces the publication of “Cincinnati: A City of Immigrants, Struggling Toward Acceptance and Equality.”  The intent of the new booklet is to educate junior high school students about the six major groups of immigrants who came to Cincinnati beginning in the 1830s.

“Cincinnati: A City of Immigrants” will be unveiled on Friday, November 6 at 4 p.m.  The 24-page history curriculum was developed and written by well-known historical researcher Mary Ann Olding and a variety of local ethnic consultants, and reviewed by Cincinnati historian Dan Hurley and several representatives at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  The booklet highlights the six largest immigrant groups to come to Cincinnati since 1830: Germans, Irish, African Americans, Jewish, Appalachians and Hispanics.

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The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and its Senior Exhibition Partners, including BRIDGES for a Just Community, the Ohio Chapter of the NAACP, and the Urban League of Cincinnati, announced today a collaborative partnership to present an exhibition on the history of lynching in America from the 1870s to the 1960s.

The exhibition, entitled Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America, will be on display from January 19 through May 31, 2010 in the Freedom Center’s Jack H. Skirball Changing Exhibit Gallery.  Related educational materials and programs will be available online at www.freedomcenter.org and an extensive series of programs is being scheduled to coincide with the exhibition.

Without Sanctuary was previously shown — to large crowds — in New York City, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Jackson MS and Atlanta.  The exhibition’s centerpiece is a collection of photographs, postcards and memorabilia that were taken at various lynching events in the United States in the early decades of the 20^th Century. These images, many of which were made into postcards and sent through the mail, often depicted crowds of onlookers who appear to be celebrating the brutal spectacle. Although the killings were not confined to a period, place, or race, an estimated 5,000 African-Americans died by lynching between 1882 and 1968.

Donald Murphy, the Freedom Center’s CEO and President, said the Freedom Center has three goals in showing Without Sanctuary: (more…)

CINCINNATI (July 24, 2009) – A new study finds that human trafficking exists in greater Cincinnati, and to combat the issue, tougher laws, along with training and education, are needed.

The Greater Cincinnati Human Trafficking Report (PDF), the first of its kind, is the result of a year-long study of human trafficking in Cincinnati and the Tri-state area, led by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  Its findings are based on nearly 140 in-depth interviews with law enforcement personnel, judges, social workers, healthcare providers, government leaders and other affected parties.

The report notes three areas of concern with greater Cincinnati’s readiness to deal with the issue:

• Lack of awareness about the problem both in the general public and among people who deal with it, such as police officers, judges and first responders
• Inadequate legislation
• Lack of training to help law enforcement identify victims.

“Unfortunately, slavery continues to persist around the world and here at home,” said Donald Murphy, the Freedom Center’s Chief Executive Officer.  “Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery in which individuals — even children — are forced to work or provide services under the threat of violence or psychological manipulation, and victims come from all economic classes and ethnic groups.”

More than 90% of the report’s interviewees say they are aware of trafficking happening locally, and just under half said they or their organizations have encountered victims directly. The report does not state the exact number of confirmed cases in the area, but it does note that many cases go undocumented.

“Trafficking cases are underreported both locally and nationally,” said Deborah Lydon, an attorney from Dinsmore & Shohl who helped spearhead the study. “Our first responders and social service providers acknowledged that they need better training to identify cases.”

In addition to inadequate training, the report says that existing laws and regulations covering trafficking are not streamlined and often come with weak penalties. States in our region also treat the crime differently: In Kentucky and Indiana, trafficking is a distinct crime, but in Ohio, it’s not.

The report offers two main conclusions for how the region should prepare for dealing with human trafficking: Focus on public awareness and training, and use benchmark statutes from other cities that would define trafficking as a crime.

The Freedom Center was assisted on the project by more than 30 volunteers in the community including attorneys, law students, paralegals, and individuals from non-profit organizations interested in justice issues.

FACTS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Human trafficking is defined as a modern form of slavery in which adults and children are forced into physical labor or commercial sex, using threats of violence or psychological manipulation.

The U.S. State Department estimates that up to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, including 17,500 people who are trafficked into the United States.

The International Labor Organization claims that trafficking is the world’s second-most popular criminal activity, generating more than $32 billion annually.

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

• Greater Cincinnati Human Trafficking Report (PDF)
• http://www.freedomcenter.org/slavery-today/
• http://www.state.gov/g/tip/ (U.S. State Department)
• http://www.pathnky.org (Northern Kentucky Women’s Crisis Center)
• http://www.freetheslaves.net
• http://www.ijm.org
• http://www.polarisproject.org
• http://www.antislavery.org
• http://www.childvoiceintl.org
• http://www.rugmark.org

The National History Club and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center are pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Freedom Center Essay Contest. The contest was held during this school year and students from across the country wrote essays on the history of the Underground Railroad and the movement that resulted in the abolishment of slavery in the United States. Students also explained how the 19th Century abolitionist cause can help combat modern forms of human trafficking.

Robert Nasson, Executive Director of the NHC, said the essay contest allowed students to examine an issue that is still as relevant today as it was 200 years ago. “The reason why we study history is to learn the lessons of the past, and students were able to look at the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement and apply those lessons to the problems we face as a society today,” Nasson said.

“These are all intelligent, thoughtful and well-written essays, which ought to be encouraging to anyone who thinks young people today don’t have an interest in understanding history,” said Freedom Center CEO Don Murphy. “The narrative surrounding the Underground Railroad is inspiring, and it also has great contemporary relevance, which these essays capture perfectly.”

The winners are:

1st prize: $1,000
Malaya Saldana – Parkview High School, Georgia (Read the Essay)
Kelly Schmidt – McAuley High School, Ohio (Read the Essay)

2nd Prize: $500
Hayin Candiotti, Passaic County Technical Institute, New Jersey (Read the Essay)
Jacob Ratliff, Amelia High School, Ohio (Read the Essay)
Kevin Ruiz, Passaic County Technical Institute, New Jersey (Read the Essay)

Honorable Mention: Copy of David Blight’s “Passages To Freedom”
Katrina Bandeli, Wayne High School, New Jersey
Rebekah Frese, Carlisle Middle School, Iowa
Manon Lefevre, Cromwell High School, Connecticut
Angela Sun, East Middle School, Michigan