Washington, DC (March 21, 2023) – On Thursday, March 30, 2023 the National Women’s History Museum will debut its inaugural in-person exhibition at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, DC.

Entitled We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC, the exhibition highlights the Black women activists whose work in Washington, DC influenced national policy from the turn of the 20th century through the civil rights and Black Power movements to today.

The exhibition, curated by historians Sherie M. Randolph and Kendra T. Field, focuses on the stories and voices of Black feminist organizers and theorists—including Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Loretta Ross—whose work changed the trajectory of the lives of millions of Black women in DC and across the country. Yet many of their important contributions remain unknown to the public. Biographies of the women featured in the exhibit are available here and images and renderings are here.

WHAT:             Grand opening of the National Women’s History Museum’s exhibit, We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC

WHERE:          Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW, Washington, DC

WHEN:            Thursday, March 30, 5:00-8:00pm. See schedule details, below.

RSVP:              Media interested in attending the grand opening, and/or a pre-opening walk through earlier in the week, must RSVP to Jeannette O’Connor at JOConnor@womenshistory.org. Media space is limited.
 

This is a major milestone for The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), the nation’s leading cultural institution for women’s history. Created as an online museum more than 25 years ago to address the dearth of female representation in museums and history books, NWHM brings to life the contributions and accomplishments of women throughout history with interactive online content, high-quality K-12 educational programming, and myriad virtual and in-person events throughout the year. We Who Believe in Freedom is the museum’s inaugural interactive in-person exhibit.
 

Grand Opening Schedule:

• 5:00pm: Ribbon cutting and special remarks from:
  • Exhibition curators Dr. Sherie Randolph and Dr. Kendra Field
  • Executive Director of the DC Public Library Richard Reyes-Gavilan
  • Board Chair of the National Women’s History Museum Susan Whiting
  • Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is featured in the exhibition
• 6:00pm: A special performance by Rochelle Rice
• All night:
  • Hands-on activities and giveaways
  • Complimentary snacks provided by DC Central Kitchen
  • A chance to meet local organizations continuing the work of the Black feminists featured in the exhibition, such as:
    • The People’s Archive
    • DC Rape Crisis Center
    • The DC Legacy Project
    • WPFW 89.3 FM
    • Sweet Honey in the Rock
    • ACLU-DC
    • Rising Organizers
    • Coalition of Concerned Mothers