The Museum of Tolerance played host to a recent luncheon for members of the Los Angeles Committee of Honor for the Freedom’s Sisters traveling exhibition and at the same time provided a behind-the-scenes sneak-peek of the exhibition through a video presentation of “The Making of Freedom’s Sisters.”
Freedom’s Sisters is a multimedia exhibition that celebrates 20 African American women, including historic 19th-century figures and contemporary leaders, who helped shape the spirit and substance of the Civil Rrights Movement in America. Designed to appeal to people of all ages, Freedom’s Sisters is a collaborative effort between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Cincinnati Museum Center, funded in part by Ford Motor Co. It is designed to appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Freedom’s Sisters will bring a multitude of community outreach initiatives to the Los Angeles area, including an essay contest which will award $10,000 in scholarships to local students.
The exhibition opens to the public Sept. 14 and runs through Jan. 8, 2012.
“Special stories are best told in special places. The Museum of Tolerance is a 21st century museum featuring stories of individual conscience and courage, confronting the past and present of prejudice, discrimination and intolerance. Here, the inspiring stories of the Freedom Sisters who personified the Civil Rights Movement come to life,” said Liebe Geft, director of the Museum of Tolerance.
“SITES is pleased to bring Freedom’s Sisters to Los Angeles and other cities across the country,” said SITES Director Anna Cohn. “The work, vision and lives of these women are truly a cultural and historical touchstone for Americans of all ages and we are excited to share with thousands of others–many of them children–their inspiring and important stories.”
Among those included in the exhibit are Ella J. Baker, Constance Baker Motley, Shirley Chisholm, Mary Church Terrell, Septima Poinsette Clark, Kathleen Cleaver, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Barbara Jordan, Mary McLeod Bethune, Rosa Parks, Sonia Sanchez, Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz, Harriet Tubman, C. Delores Tucker, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Ida B. Wells.
For more information on the Freedom’s Sisters exhibition, visit the Museum of Tolerance at 9786 West Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles, or go to www.museumoftolerance.com.
