WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A national exhibit honoring the African American women who led the civil rights battle in the United States makes its last stop in Washington Heights Saturday.
“Freedom Sisters,” a traveling collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and Cincinnati Museum Center, features the stories of “key 19th century historical figures” and “contemporary leaders who have fought for equality for people of color.”
The multimedia project, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, toured 11 cities throughout the country since it launched in March 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio, before coming to the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center.
“Much of our national memory of the civil rights movement is embodied by male figureheads whose visibility in boycotts, legal proceedings and mass demonstrations dominated newspaper and television coverage in the 1950s and 1960s,” reads a description of the exhibit.
“While less prominent in the media," the description continued, "a group of extraordinary women also shaped much of the spirit and substance of civil rights in America, just as their mothers and grandmothers had done for decades.”
The exhibition honors 20 African American women who helped pave the way for equal rights, “introduced by video and electronic projections of strong artistic images that will seize visitors’ emotions,” according to organizers.
The honorees include Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Shirley Chisolm, along with contemporary names like Kathleen Cleaver, Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Sonia Sanchez.
As part of the exhibit, the Shabazz Center will also hold an essay contest for 4th to 8th grade students. First prize for the winning entry to the question “Who is your Favorite Freedom Sister and why?” is a $5,000 savings bond.
“Freedom Sisters” officially opens Feb. 4 and runs through April 22 at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center, located at 3940 Broadway, between West 165th and 166th Streets. For more information visit www.freedomsisters.com or theshabazzcenter.net or call 212-568-1341.
