Slavery and Freedom Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom is one of the exhibiton in The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). NMAAHC is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW on the National Mall. The four-level museum opened on Sept. 24, 2016, becoming the only national museum solely dedicated to the documentation of African American life, history and culture. This Smithsonian Institution museum is an architectural marvel that features numerous interactive exhibits.[1]
This exhibition explores the complex story of slavery and freedom which rests at the core of our nation’s shared history. The exhibition begins in 15th century Africa and Europe, extends up through the founding of the United States, and concludes with the nation’s transformation during the Civil War and Reconstruction. [2]
History and Collection
Through powerful objects and first person accounts, visitors encounter both free and enslaved African Americans’ contributions to the making of America and explore the economic and political legacies of the making of modern slavery. The exhibition emphasizes that American slavery and American freedom is a shared history and that the actions of ordinary men and women, demanding freedom, transformed our nation.[3]
As the centerpiece of the museum, this exhibition explores the complex story of slavery and freedom, a story standing at the core of our national experience. Beginning in the 15th century with the transatlantic slave trade, through the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, the exhibition uses personal stories to explore the economic and political legacies of slavery for all Americans.
Priceless objects featured include:
- Harriett Tubman’s shawl and hymn book (c. 1876)
- Nat Turner’s bible (1830s)
- shackles used for an enslaved child
- a slave cabin from Edisto Island, S.C.
- a pocket copy of the Emancipation Proclamation read from by soldiers bringing news of freedom to the U.S. Colored Troops
- freedom papers (c. 1852) carried by a former slave, Joseph Trammell[4]
Visitor
One of the visitor want to show this museum and its history in it to her daughter so they can know the history of black people. Because if she back to five or six generation before she is a descendant of slaves and she is extremely proud of that and she think her children should be too because there is nothing to be ashamed of.
“We talk about the harsh reality of slavery, but juxtaposed against the resistance and the resilience and the survival of a people,”. “But it is also the story of how African-Americans helped define this nation, shaped it physically, geographically, culturally, socially, politically and economically. We want people to see all that, and we want people to see the juxtaposition of profit and power against the human cost.”-Mary Elliot (Museum Specialist)
“The first time I saw that in storage, I just looked at it and had to turn away. The level of emotion on seeing that object is something I’m having a hard time explaining,”. “I only hope that people, when they see these objects, understand and feel some of the things that we did, because this is really documenting a past—our shared past—and it’s really the nation’s commitment to collecting, displaying and fully addressing this past. . . . I hope that people will continue to bring objects forward because it is important that we never lose sight of this history again.” -Bercaw (one of the museum’s staff)[5]
Reference
- ↑ Discover rich and essential African American history at this free Smithsonian museum on the National Mall. Washington. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ Slavery and Freedom.Nmaahc.si.edu. Retriever January 26, 2021
- ↑ Slavery and Freedom.Nmaahc.si.edu. Retriever January 26, 2021
- ↑ National Museum of African American History and Culture. September 24, 2016. Si.edu. Retrieved January 26, 2021
- ↑ Allison Keyes. At the New “Slavery and Freedom” Show, a Mother Finds an Empowering Message for Her Young Daughters. OCTOBER 14, 2016. SMITHSONIANMAG.COM. Retrieved January 26, 2021


