Freedom Center nominated one of best history museums in the country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 15, 2024 MEDIA CONTACT: Cody Hefner (513) 608-5777, chefner@nurfc.org
Freedom Center again nominated one of nation's top history museum
CINCINNATI – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is in the running for the nation’s best history museum for the fourth year in a row. USA TODAY’s 10Best recently released their list of nominees for the nation’s 10 Best History Museums. Twenty history museums from across the nation are among the finalists for the award – including another local museum, Cincinnati Museum Center’s Cincinnati History Museum – which will be decided following a four-week online vote. Voting is open now at 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-history-museum-2024. Voting ends at 11:59 a.m. EST February 12.The USA TODAY 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards finalists are selected by a panel of experts and editors. This is the fourth straight year the Freedom Center has been announced as a finalist for the award. The Cincinnati museum finished first in 2023 after previously placing second (2021) and third (2022). “We are honored to once again be recognized alongside some of the top history museums in the country,” said Woodrow Keown, Jr., president and COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “Being acknowledged four years in a row is a testament to the work we do and the importance of presenting fact-based history that can move our nation forward together. It shows how relevant this history remains and the critical role museums like ours play in weaving and preserving the fabric of our shared cultural heritage. We hope supporters locally and around the country vote to help us be recognized once again as the best history museum in the country.” The Freedom Center is a nationally-accredited museum by the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction held by just 6% of museums nationwide. Since its opening in 2004, it has shared stories of freedom’s heroes from the era of the Underground Railroad to modern day. The museum is located on the banks of the Ohio River, where many enslaved people took their first steps on free soil after self-liberating through the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s. Through immersive, thought-provoking exhibits, programming and films the Freedom Center continues to be a convener of dialogue around issues of freedom, the denial of freedom, systemic racism, implicit bias and modern-day enslavement. During a visit, guests are introduced to freedom conductors including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, John Rankin, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Box Brown, Margaret Garner and the millions whose names have long been forgotten. Each person can vote one time per day, per email. Voting closes February 12 at 11:59 a.m. You can vote at 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-history-museum-2024. For more information about the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, visit freedomcenter.org.
