How to go
What: “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963,” a national touring Smithsonian exhibition
When: “Changing America” will open at Miami University Middletown’s Gardner-Harvey Library on Sept. 8 and remain through Oct. 15, during regular library hours. An opening reception hosted by Caryn Neumann will be held at the library on Sept. 10, from 4-6 p.m.
Where: Miami University Middletown, Gardner-Harvey Library, 4200 N. University Blvd., Middletown
Cost: Free and open to the public
More info: Go online to http://libguides.lib.miamioh.edu/changingamerica or call Beth Tumbleson at (513) 727-3232.
Miami University Middletown will host “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963,” which is set to open on Sept. 8.
The exhibition explores the relationship between two significant movements for equal rights.
“We are very pleased to sponsor the touring Smithsonian exhibition at the Gardner-Harvey Library and be a part of commemorating these historic events,” said Gardner-Harvey Library director John Burke.
An opening reception hosted by Miami Middletown history instructor Caryn Neumann will be held at the library on Sept. 10.
“Changing America,” a national touring Smithsonian exhibition, examines the events leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and the March on Washington in 1963. One hundred years separate them, yet they are linked to a larger story of liberty and the American experience, which brought together different races, classes and ideologies.
The exhibit was created to commemorate the two pivotal achievements on their 150th and 50th anniversaries. It explores the historical context, accomplishments and limitations as well as their impact on generations that followed. The stories are told with large panels of photographs and an accompanying explanation.
“It was important to us to have this Smithsonian touring exhibit, because it represents the theme of social justice, freedom, equality, civil rights, and it’s also a university-wide theme for Freedom Summer in 2014,” said Beth Tumbleson, assistant director, Gardner-Harvey Library, Miami University Middletown.
She said the exhibit will be highlighted by a number of upcoming programs. On Sept. 17, a “Changing America Seminar” will be held from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. at CCC 142, Miami University Middletown, featuring lectures on the March on Washington and the Emancipation Proclamation by Miami history faculty members Nishani Frazier and Martin Johnson. On Thurs., Sept. 25, Tammy Kernodle will host a program on America’s musical heritage from 6-7 p.m. at Verity Lodge. On Tuesday, Sept. 30, a presentation on the “Voices of Freedom Summer” led by Miami University associate librarian Jacqueline Johnson will be held at Gardner-Harvey Library.
The Gardner-Harvey Library will also sponsor two additional documentary screenings and discussions on Sept 22 and Oct. 14 in the “Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” series. Go to www.mid.muohio.edu/library/createdequal.htm for more information.
Burke said, “It is particularly fitting that the exhibition will arrive in the midst of Miami University’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, as we remember the volunteers who trained at the Oxford campus to become Freedom Riders and support voting rights in the South.”
The “Changing America” exhibit is scheduled to tour the nation from 2014-17.
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