Cincinnati Museum Center's 'America I Am' exhibit will capture your attention

CINCINNATI - W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, “Where would America have been without her Negro people?”

After experiencing the America I Am exhibit presented by Tavis Smiley, the answer to that question is effectively answered.

The Cincinnati Museum Center exhibit covers 500 years of American history from the arrival of Africans to the present. It celebrates the African American imprint on this country and on the world. Featuring a compilation of various artifacts and narratives that helped shape the world we know today, this exhibit will amaze you and emotionally capture your attention.

The 12-gallery exhibit opened with a VIP reception Friday, June 18. Several hundred local and national supporters came together to celebrate the occasion. The opening reception built up immense anticipation for the exhibit. It was touching to see how passionate people are about this phenomenal record of African American history. The exhibit features four central themes in African American history: economic, socio-political, cultural and spiritual.

From a visitor’s standpoint, experiencing this exhibit was truly something special. To be able to see actual relics from history that influential people have used or touched is amazing. Seeing the chains they used to enslave people, the jail cell that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood behind, and so many other artifacts is enough to give you chills. People all around were enthralled, taking each part of the exhibit in carefully.

The exhibit shows how America would not have been the same without the African American imprint. America I Am runs through January 2, 2011.

Cincinnati is fortunate to host something this incredible that will hopefully motivate people to make their own imprints on the world and become "America We Are."