Lincoln exhibit opens on Thursday

Posted on by Brian Postelle

“Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation,” will open at Pack Memorial Library on Thursday, Sept. 17, with a special reception hosted by the Center for Diversity Education at UNC-Asheville and Asheville/Buncombe Libraries.

The event has been a long-time coming; applications to host the traveling exhibit went out five years ago and Asheville is one of three North Carolina stops on the tour.

Focussing on Lincoln’s efforts toward the abolition of slavery during the Civil War, the exhibit is a collection of panels that contain, according to the ALA website, “reproductions of rare historical documents, period photographs, and illustrative material, such as engravings, lithographs, cartoons, and political ephemera.”

Deborah Miles, executive director for the Center for Diversity Education, notes that the event is especially serendipitous not only because 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, but also because of the message sent by the election of President Barack Obama.

“Who would have thought we would be so fortunate to have a president and first family who are so reflective of a dream so many had?” Miles says.

Forever Free opens Sept. 17 and runs through Oct. 31. A reception for the exhibit will be held Sept. 17 at 6 p.m., complete with a Lincoln reenactor.

Click here for more information.

— Brian Postelle, staff writer

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