Travel: The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

An authentic slave pen, moved from a farm in Kentucky, dominates the second-floor hall.

(Collections of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center)

Driving north on Interstate 75 through the green hills of Kentucky, travelers are often surprised to crest the last ridge and see the graceful city of Cincinnati spread out across the wide Ohio River. Now they can see a new arrival there nestled between the grand ballparks along the riverbank, a group of wave-shaped structures of stone and glass that reflect the power and timelessness of the river, which so many people once crossed in the hope of liberty. This is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, whose mission is to tell of past and present-day courage, cooperation, and perseverance, between races and cultures, for freedom in its many forms.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in downtown Cincinnati nearly three years ago. The $110 million facility features three pavilions, and in each of its eight permanent exhibits it weaves the story of freedom through the heroic legacy of the Underground Railroad and America’s struggle to abolish human enslavement.

Ohio became a destination for freedom as soon as the federal government banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, in the 1780s. By the 1840s, fervent activism in Cincinnati and across the state marked Ohio as a stronghold of the abolitionist movement. The Freedom Center complex rests on land that was an African-American neighborhood in antebellum Cincinnati. Members of that community, free by law, still had to fight daily for personal liberties in a city divided by its racial tensions. But despite their own difficulties and the fear of imprisonment and death, Cincinnati African-Americans were important participants on the Underground Railroad.

The Freedom Center’s front doors face the river and a broad plaza, where tables and chairs encourage picnic lunches in a reflective place to enjoy the river views. Inside the airy lobby, the information center offers an audio tour with the price of admission. The recording, led by the rich voices of Vanessa Williams and Angela Bassett, guides you through the permanent exhibits focusing on artwork, artifacts, and displays that best represent the exhibits’ historic themes.

If you have only two hours to devote to the museum, the tour recommends specific stops and two movies, Midnight Decision and Brothers of the Borderland. Midnight Decision, a short film, tells the story of a young slave’s emotional struggle as he decides whether or not to leave his family behind in a journey to personal freedom. Most visitors flock to Brothers of the Borderland, an exhibit that features a movie introduced by Oprah Winfrey about two men, black and white, who help two young slaves escape in nearby Ripley, Ohio.

The Freedom Center’s second-floor hall is a place of both strong images and quiet reflection. The towering presence of an authentic slave pen, moved from a farm in nearby Kentucky, elicits a stark, emotional response that is softened by the beauty of the surrounding original artwork, created by such artists as Carolyn Mazloomi, Michael Cummings, and Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson. The exhibits about the slave trade, the American Civil War, and the failure of Reconstruction are disturbing and weighty, but you’ll drawn back to the serene river views from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the main gallery. The river’s presence acts as a reminder of the cooperation it took between whites and blacks to cross that divide, to eventually end American slavery in the nineteenth century, and to overcome lawful segregation and disenfranchisement in the next.

This is not a “rust and dust” museum, as Eddie Davis, a staff member, said to me. Rather than a collecting institution, it is a place where ideas and actions based in history can challenge present-day opinions. “We don’t harp on slavery; we use the American experience of slavery as a foundation to inspire courage, cooperation, and perseverance. The Underground Railroad was all about both races, white and black, working together.”

The Freedom Center uses that legacy of cooperation as a springboard for addressing social problems of today. The exhibit and film “The Struggle Continues” relates nineteenth-century slavery to modern hardships caused by racism, sectarianism, and terrorism. As you move through that exhibit, a soft voice on the audio tour asks, “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” That call to action leads you into “Reflect, Respond, Resolve,” where interactive displays engage you in a dialogue about your experiences at the museum. The “Everyday Freedom Heroes” exhibit explores the journeys and struggles of contemporary freedom fighters and allows you to nominate your own candidates to join an international roster.

You might also consider spending an extra day at the museum, to visit the Family Search Center, on the fourth floor. Librarians there help families start ancestral searches, with worksheets and resource material. You can delve into a variety of genealogy databases, including U.S. censuses, Social Security death indexes, ships’ manifests, and Ellis Island rosters. The genealogy library strives to extend the mission of the museum by encouraging families to connect in a wider circle of relationships.

Some have called the Freedom Center a “museum of conscience.” John Pepper, former chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble and now the Center’s chief executive, says, “I call it a center for learning and living. I remember the comment of a visiting historian about his experience here: ‘If people could help one another then, at the risk of their lives, not even knowing each other, what excuse do we have today to not do the same?’”

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 Freedom Way, Cincinnati, Ohio, is open Tuesdays through Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, less for seniors and children. For more information visit www.freedomcenter.org or call (877) 648-4838.

—Rebecca Strand Johnson is a historian and writer in Cincinnati, Ohio.