Tonight, we Jews will celebrate
the third night of Hanukah and remember that long ago victory for religious freedom. I’ll
also remember our recent visit to the National Underground Railroad Center www.freedomcenter.org.
in Cincinnati. It will be a great melding of two traditions.
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| view of Ohio River seen from the museum |
Since Cincinnati was the
first place on the northern side of the Mason-Dixon Line, across the Ohio River
from Kentucky, it was the first place that runaway slaves came to in their
pursuit of freedom. As such, it’s a perfect place for this museum to be housed.
The museum’s permanent exhibit has a great mix of videos, still exhibits, and
interactive exhibits allowing the visitor to experience this excruciating time
in American history. It also includes exhibits of struggles for freedom going
on today.
Right now, there are two
temporary exhibits well worth the visit. One was an exhibit about slavery still
being practiced now in 2017. The struggle for freedom never ends
and it was good to be reminded of it. The exhibit includes discussion on human
trafficking, children forced into grueling labor and unable to escape, as well
as slavery being practiced today in the 21st century in Libya and
other parts of North Africa. It is a shocking reminder that we can never become
complacent and think that the fight for human dignity is won and done.
The other temporary
exhibit – The Kinsey Collection of American Art & History - is very powerful.
The exhibit will be there through April 2018.
Bernard and Shirley
Kinsey were able to amass an amazingly extensive collection of art,
artifacts, and historical documents spanning 400 years of history. If you go to
the exhibit, expect to spend two to three hours there. Bernard Kinsey primarily
collected artifacts and documents while Shirley Kinsey found heretofore
undiscovered African-American artists. Together, their collection is very
comprehensive. There are copies of the Dred Scott decision, the Missouri
Compromise, and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery
and displays of objects common in the daily lives of the slaves.
The exhibit of various
African-American artists’ work is a great complement to the historic. I was
taken by the expressions of anger and despair seen on the faces of the people
in the pictures. That sense of emotional rawness is rarely seen and felt so
realistic. At the same time, on view is the power people felt as well as they
fought to be free.
The Kinseys were active
in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s. They spent four decades
gathering this amazing collection. It is an impressive life’s work. Together
they have provided the public with an insight into the lives of slaves – those
who fought for their own freedom and those who were able to reach safety and
then helped others make it to safety as well. If you can’t get to Cincinnati to
see this exhibit, look for it to arrive at a museum in your city and make a
point to go see it.
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