The words of this old Negro spiritual were never more real than when I recently visited the new National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This state-of-the-art museum chronicles the development of the National Underground Railroad that formed a network of safe houses and the heroic conductors who risked life and family to help slaves on their journey to freedom. Even more heroic were the men, women, and children who were willing to die to escape the tyranny of slavery.
Stories are told through modern technology, historical exhibits, and interactive venues. On several of the interactive video screens you are asked to make decisions that, if wrong, will end your dream of freedom and perhaps your life. Oprah Winfrey, in one of the films created for the Center, tells the magnificent story of heroism found in the early days of Ripley, Ohio. As a person who doesn’t really enjoy museums, I was surprised to see that I had spent over 2 1/2 hours there. (The family joke is that I can walk through one of the Smithsonian’s wings in 30 minutes or less.)
A visit to the Freedom Center is about much more than developing an awareness of American history and the factors that led to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. It makes one look inward and reexamine the traditional history that is taught in many American schools. You are horrified that the churches, Congress, the Supreme Court and more than half the nation believed that slavery was not only profitable but ordained by God. Unfortunately, you also realize that similar arguments are used today to oppress and enslave in different ways. As you leave, you have a much better understanding of the spiritual “Let my people go…”
To learn more about this fascinating museum, visit their website at http://www.freedomcenter.org. Specific driving directions are also provided.