National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center - Wilberforce, OH

The Wilberforce facility was a little disappointing. But then again, most of the suggested Underground Railroad sites on the route so far have been a little disappointing, that is except for the Freedom Center in Cincinnati. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised either, the Underground Railroad wasn’t about places; it was about the people and their courage and informal cooperation.

Anyway, the Wilberforce facility basically had three exhibits. The first was a self-explanatory Wilberforce historical timeline exhibit. The second exhibit highlighted Af-Am achievements in professional sports. The history and information presented was very impressive even for a non-sports fan like me. The only downside of the exhibit was none of the artifacts appeared real, just cheap replicas. The third exhibit was a 50’s exhibit – a pre-civil rights movement exhibit. I’m only guessing, but it appeared that about fifty times more was spent on the 50’s exhibit than was spent on the sports exhibit. The two appeared odd side-by-side. I just didn’t get why they focused on the 50’s either. It was kinda like looking at the calm before the storm.