| Greensboro,
NC – January 2010 – Why did a nation founded on ideals of freedom and equality
tolerate for so long one of the harshest labor systems the world has known?
A
new traveling exhibition opening at UNCG’s Jackson Library on Jan. 25 looks
for answers to this question by tracing Abraham Lincoln’s gradual transformation
from an antislavery moderate into “The Great Emancipator,” who freed slaves
in the rebel states with a revolutionary war-time proclamation in 1863.
“Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation,” featuring reproductions
of rare historical documents, will be on display at the library until March
5.
Organized
by the Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif., and the Gilder Lehrman Institute
of American History, New York City, in cooperation with the American Library
Association (ALA), this traveling exhibition is made possible through major
grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, created by Congress and charged with planning
the national celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday.
Locally,
this project is made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina
Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities, and through the support of the Friends of
the UNCG Libraries, the N.C. Civil War Roundtable and the UNCG History
Club.
In
conjunction with the exhibit, the University Libraries are bringing several
speakers to campus:
-
7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 26 – Dr. Loren Schweninger, UNCG Department of History, “Frederick
Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and the End of Slavery.” Virginia Dare Room,
Alumni House.
-
3:30
p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27 – Former Senator George McGovern will sign copies
of his 2009 book, “Lincoln,” and discuss what drew him to the subject.
Reception immediately following. Jackson Library Reading Room.
-
7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 4 – Dr. Thomas Brown, University of South Carolina Department
of History, “The Civil War in Modern Eyes.” Virginia Dare Room, Alumni
House.
-
7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 18 – Dr. Paul Finkelman, Albany School of Law, “Did Abe
Lincoln Really Free the Slaves?” Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House.
-
7 p.m.
Thursday, March 4 – Dr. Heather Williams, UNC Chapel Hill Department of
History, “Help Me to Find My People: Searching for Family After Slavery
Ended.” Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House.
“We
are pleased to have been selected as a site for this exhibition,” said
Dean Rosann Bazirjian of the University Libraries at UNCG. “The Civil War
and slavery are topics which must constantly be revisited in order to help
21st century Americans better understand their causes and more clearly
see how their effects are still with us today.
“This
exhibit offers our campus and our community an opportunity to learn more
about how Abraham Lincoln decided upon emancipation of the slaves, even
as he tried to hold together a fragile coalition of states in order to
preserve the Union. It is a revealing insight into the values, principles
and ideals that guided one of our greatest presidents.”
In
addition to the events at the University Libraries, free programs are being
sponsored by the Greensboro Public Library and the Greensboro Historical
Museum in connection with the exhibition. For more information, contact
Kimberly Lutz at (336) 256-8598 or kdlutz2@uncg.edu.
Visit
library.uncg.edu/depts/admin/lincoln/
for a list of all of the events in the series.
Abraham
Lincoln was an obscure Illinois lawyer and politician of humble origins
who rose in an astonishingly short time to world renown as the leader of
a young nation during one of its most troubled times. Throughout his life,
Lincoln’s dedication to the ideals of freedom and equality for all people
did not waver. “I want every man to have the chance – and I believe a black
man is entitled to it – in which he can better his condition,” he said
early in his political career.
Lincoln
was also a pragmatic politician who believed that a direct attack on slavery
in the South would split the Union and end America’s experiment in self-government.
He steered a middle course during the early years of the Civil War but
became convinced that ending slavery would help the Union militarily. His
Emancipation Proclamation transformed the character of the war by re-committing
the nation to its founders’ vision of freedom and equality for all people.
“Forever
Free” draws upon original documents in the collections of the Huntington
Library and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. It was curated
by John Rhodehamel, Norris Foundation Curator of American historical manuscripts
at the Huntington Library.
|
The
Greensboro
Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit, independent,
governmental authority whose mission is the promotion of economic development
through travel and tourism. Guilford County ranks third in the state in
travel and tourism expenditures with $1.083 billion generated in 2007 with
over 13,000 people employed in travel-related jobs.
The
Greensboro Visitor Information Center offers free guides and information
on area attractions, accommodations, restaurants, golf, and a wide variety
of activities and special events.
The
Visitor Information Center has moved to 2200 Pinecroft Road, Suite 200,
across from the Four Seasons Town Centre at exit 217 off I-40 at High Point
Road. Call 1-800-344-2282 or 336-274-2282 for information and directions.
On the Web visit www.visitgreensboronc.com.
|
Contact:
Gail
C. Murphy
Director
of Marketing/Communications
336-335-1578
|
|