The Friends of the Niles District Library and History Center are teaming up to bring a new travelling exhibit about a prominent figure in U.S. history to the Niles community.
“The Frederick Douglass: Advocate for Equality Exhibit” will explore Douglass’s life and impact through his own words and photographs from the Gilder Lehrman Collection.
Niles History Center Director Christina Arseneau said this would be a good way to talk about the history as well as highlight the importance of voting.
“We want to bring attention to some of the history, of course,” Arsenau said. “It’s important to remind people that people worked really hard to fight for all of these rights, and there were a lot of challenges along the way. So it’s really important that we keep them, we keep their stories alive, and that we use those stories today to make a positive difference in what we do every day.”
On the opening day of the exhibit, September 9, Arseneau will present “Activism and Art,” a program which explores the life artist and activist Lottie Wilson. Wilson, who was a Niles native, was good friends of Douglass’s wife, Anna. He also painted a portrait of Douglass and Anna, which is now lost.
“We have that connection here locally and so we thought that would be interesting to talk about how they were connected and how this area played a role in civil rights on the national level.”
Both the exhibit and the program are free of charge. The exhibit will be displayed in the library’s rotunda starting September 9 through October 4, and can be seen during public hours.