Buncombe County Public libraries
buncombe county public libraries
“Forever Free” Traveling Exhibition
This news item expired on 10/30/2009, so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
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 Pack Memorial Library on Thursday, September 17 looks for answers to this question by tracing Abraham Lincoln’s gradual transformation from an antislavery moderate into “The Great Emancipator,” who freed all slaves with a revolutionary war-time proclamation in 1863. “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” will be on display at Pack Library until Friday, October 30.
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 in 2009. The exhibit is being brought to Buncombe County by the Friends of Buncombe County Libraries and the Center for Diversity Education.
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 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. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation transformed the character of the war by re-committing the nation to its founders’ vision of freedom and equality for all.
“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 library is sponsoring free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibition. There will be an opening reception for the exhibition at Pack Memorial Library on Thursday, September 17 at 6 p.m., with a performance by George Frein as Abraham Lincoln beginning at 7 p.m. Please check the library’s website at buncombecounty.org/library for the details of the schedule. The exhibit and all programs are free and the public is invited. Contact Pack Memorial Library at 250-4700 or library@buncombecounty.org for more information.
- Exhibit Dates: September 17 to October 30
- Opening Reception: September 17 at 6 p.m. with George Frein as Lincoln
- Exhibit Location: Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood Street, main floor
- Exhibit Hours: Same as Pack Memorial Library hours
- Exhibit Costs: Free