037 ‘Free at Last’ Chronicles African Americans’ Early Freedom in Tennessee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 14, 2007
CONTACT: Laura Holder, 615-898-2947 or via e-mail at lholder@mtsu.edu

TRAVELING EXHIBIT MAKES ITS HOME IN MURFREESBORO NOW THROUGH SEPT. 21
‘Free at Last’ Chronicles African Americans’ Early Freedom in Tennessee

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—“Free at Last! Emancipation and Reconstruction in Tennessee,” a traveling exhibit created by the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area (TCWNHA), is on display now through Sept. 21 at the Oaklands Historic House Museum, 900 N. Maney Ave., in Murfreesboro.
The two-panel exhibit, which began its journey Feb. 14 at the 26th Annual Conference on African-American History and Culture at Tennessee State University, emphasizes the significance of emancipation as a result of the Civil War, said Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the TCWNHA.
“Freedom for former slaves was a key outcome of the Civil War, and it was the slaves themselves who made it happen,” van Zelm said. “They took advantage of the presence of the occupying Union army to break down the bonds of slavery.”
In addition to raising awareness about the agency of former slaves in bringing about their freedom, the “Free at Last!” exhibit provides an introduction to the joys and challenges shared by African Americans in Tennessee during the aftermath of slavery, van Zelm observed.
Prior to its current stop at the Oaklands Historic House Museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance and its rich historical associations the exhibit was on display in Lebanon, Smyrna, Granville, Franklin and Murfreesboro, as well as at the Civil War Preservation Trust Summer Teacher Institute Chattanooga in late July and the Legacy of Stones River Symposium in Murfreesboro last March.
Regarding the exhibit’s inspiration, van Zelm said, “The Reconstruction years were crucial to the development of African-American communities throughout Tennessee. Former slaves founded scores of schools and churches … (and the exhibit) highlights some of the emancipation communities that are wonderfully preserved in our state.”
The locally based heritage area has provided the exhibit to these museums free of charge, reported Laura Holder, manager of the TCNHA, which receives funding from the National Park Service and is administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.
“Our goal is to tell the whole story of the Civil War and Reconstruction in Tennessee,” she said. “These venues are terrific places to tell the emancipation story.”
For more information about the Oaklands, please access its Web site at http://www.oaklandsmuseum.org/ or call 615-893-0022.
• For more information about the “Free at Last!” exhibit, please contact Holder at 615-898-2947 or via e-mail at lholder@mtsu.edu.

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