I hadn’t been to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center since college, shortly after it opened. It’s free to the public on MLK Day and having the day off of school, it was a cool way to spend the free time – pun sort of intended. For our Junior League Provisional welcome event, we spent the evening at the museum. It’s an incredible space – great for hosting events like this one. We split up and toured different exhibits and I was amazed at how much it has grown and expanded in what the NURFC had to offer. My group went through the modern slavery exhibit which I believe is the most relative, informative and mind blowing area of the museum. Ultimately, slavery did not end with civil rights. Chattle slavery – of the South – did cease but day to day, I don’t realize how many humans are trafficked in our own “free” country. There’s an island off the States that is U.S. territory where women from Asian countries are literally chained to sewing machines and make clothing every day that is then labeled as “Made in the USA.” People feel good about buying things that say this – and who knew that they’re made off shore by slaves. Sickeningly sad.
There are fishing boats off of Africa where 12-year old children work during the fishing season to swim under the boats and untangle knots. When the season is over, they’re shot and pushed into the sea. Human sex trafficking is the second largest black market behind drug trade. Young women have a period of 6 months from the time they’re placed in captivity and abused until they are beyond psychological return when saved. Can you imagine? That’s all the time it takes to ruin an innocent life. And many poor families sell their daughters or nieces into the business. It’s unbelievable and makes one so appreciative of the hand we’ve been dealt.
I understand the museum needs funding and return visitors. They’re revamping their YP program and I’m interested in viewing the new Civil War exhibit that will be shown though January. Many people think it’s “just about American slavery and black people” – it’s not. There’s a lot of really interesting history and art to be seen and stories to learn. It’s a humbling experience and one that everyone in Cincinnati should see and feel. We live on the cusp of freedom on the Ohio River. One challenge I do have with the museum is that it is a niche that is hard to bring new content to often – I can’t image visiting more than 3 times a year or having a membership. The new exhibition director seems to be doing a great job of keeping it fresh and interactive, though. The other challenge is the guilt – so I’m a fairly well do to (by global standards) young white female without a large sum of disposable income. How can I help? Here I am, affected by these horror stories – especially the modern day slavery – but I’m powerless when it comes to making a difference, right? It’s a dirty market and if governments cannot save, I surely cannot. I don’t have the power, the force, the funds, anything it would take to make a dent in these wrongdoings. So it’s depressing. But I still think it’s important to be mindful to the reality of what is going on in our world. And I know we could all feed our culture create a little more.
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