A Call to Serve
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way
Monday, January 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is free, registration is recommended.
The King Legacy Celebration includes a continental breakfast and time for networking and fellowship before the program begins.
Doors open at 7:30 a.m., with the program starting at 8:30 a.m. Standard tickets ($50) and member tickets ($40) are still available.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center celebrates the life and leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with free admission and programming throughout the day on Monday, Jan. 19.
Prior to the museum’s opening, the Freedom Center welcomes guests for the for the King Legacy Celebration, bringing together civic leaders, business professionals, activists and community members for an inspirational program.
Gen Z Historian Kahlil Greene will take the stage as the King Legacy Celebration keynote speaker. A Peabody Awards Winner and TIME100 Creator, Greene is a widely recognized digital educator and journalist who shares insights on history & culture across multiple platforms to inform and inspire young audiences.
The King Legacy Celebration features WLWT reporter and former anchor Courtis Fuller as emcee and a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers®, the Grammy-Award winning world-renowned ensemble group comprised of students from Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. The Fisk Jubilee Singers®' visit coincides with the opening of the Freedom Center’s new special exhibit, “Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey,” which explores the founding and early history of the group that introduced African American spirituals to the world.
The day of free admission is made possible through the support of the Fifth Third Foundation as part of the Freedom Center’s Fifth Third Community Days.
“Educating ourselves and connecting with one another is an essential step in realizing Dr. King’s dream of freedom and equality,” said Woodrow Keown, Jr., president and COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “We are grateful to Fifth Third Bank for creating a free and accessible entry point for the public on MLK Day to visit the Freedom Center, see our exhibits and engage with our programming.”
The annual MLK Coalition Freedom March starts at the Freedom Center on Monday, Jan. 19 at 10:30 a.m. Participants are welcome to gather in the warming station inside the southeast corner of the building, courtesy of The Kroger Company.
University of Cincinnati professor Dr. Holly McGee will give the keynote address at Music Hall, Dr. McGee specializes in U.S. History and African American History, with an emphasis on black women’s activist and intellectual history, comparative political activism in the United States and South Africa, and popular culture in the twentieth century.
Visitors will have the opportunity to see the opening of the Freedom Center’s newest exhibit about the Fisk Jubilee Singers®, learn how to get involved with many Cincinnati service organizations, hear engaging speakers and participate in a community blood drive hosted by Hoxworth Blood Center.
A highlight of the Freedom Center’s MLK Day activities is a conversation between Gen Z historian Kahlil Greene and Megan Gerhardt, PhD, Professor of Management at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. Greene and Gerhardt will discuss ways people across generations can come together and collaborate for social justice.
“Each generation inherits a different understanding of justice, one that is shaped by the struggles they witnessed and the tools they were, or were not, given,” said Shawnee Turner, VP Education and Interpretation at the Freedom Center. “However, we are all are asking the same question: how do we make the world more fair than we found it?”
Additionally, Freedom Center Social Justice Curator Trudy Gaba will present the history and contributions of Historically Black Benevolent and Mutual Aid Societies. Visitors will also get to drop in on a home ownership symposium presented by Union Savings Bank and Guardian Savings Bank between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Service organizations tabling throughout the Freedom Center include Poverty Liberation Collective, The Zonta Club of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (CABVI), Ignite Peace, Groundwork Ohio River Valley and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME). Hoxworth Blood Center is once again hosting their MLK Day blood drive from 12 to 5 p.m. at the Freedom Center.