Analysis Of The Underground Railroad And Freedom Center

“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves” Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States and credited for ending slavery for African Americans. On Friday, September 23rd, we set off for Cincinnati, Ohio. The goal of this trip was to view the Underground Railroad and Freedom Center and apply it to what we have studied in class so far. The mission of the Underground Railroad and Freedom Center is to “reveal stories of freedom’s heroes, from the era of the Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps of freedom today.” The Center had many exhibits to view and all were impactful in different ways, however I will discuss the three that had the most effect on

This exhibit focused on the forms of slavery that still exist today, including: forced labor, bond indenture, child slavery, sex trafficking and domestic servitude. The exhibit is designed similar to that of a warehouse. It is designed of wood, metal, and plastic containers, ones used for shipping items including human beings. The exhibit had many interesting videos to watch about each form of slavery. One video that struck me was an advertisement for sex tracking. The setup of the video was similar to any other job advertisement. It talked about the “benefits” of the business, like, getting to meet new people, great pay, free housing, nice coworkers, etc…. What made it impactful and emotional was the video and images playing behind it. The girls being bought, abused, and watched by the “clients”. I found it moving because it showed that anyone could fall victim to this. Women, looking to better themselves or help support their families, are easily caught in this horrible trade believing that they are going to work in other aspects, like waitressing. We had just finished up the section about African American slavery and many Americans feel like that was the end of all slavery in the United States. This exhibit showed that some of these things, like sex trafficking and domestic servitude, are happening right here. The fight for freedom is never

Thanks to new virtual reality technology, an individual is able to go back in time and live through historic moments, like Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her bus seat. Depending on where you looked, to the front, the sides, or the back, you could have had a completely different experience then the person next to you. When my turn came, I tried to look around as much as possible to see the whole scene and it was very beneficial. When the bus driver calls the cops, if you’re watching the back, you see some of the African American riders get up and leave, wanting to avoid the confrontation that would soon ensue. When looking to the front, you can see the look of disgust and impatience on the faces of the white individuals while in the back the African American’s held this look of avoidance, wanting nothing to do with the situation. This was also good because it really made you feel like you were Rosa, you were on that bus and taking a stand for segregation. When the officer reaches out to grab me, I made the unconscious decision to move my arm away from the “danger”. Although we have not read about the fight for desegregation, we have all learned about it in some form of history class. We know that Rosa’s refusal to give up her seat led to her arrest and the boycott that followed. This experience was beneficial because it helped you understand what many of these people felt and experienced during their fight.