The exhibition opens its three-year national tour at the Cincinnati Museum Center March 15. It remains there until Sept. 14, and then travels to eight additional cities, including Memphis, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala., Dallas and Detroit. A variety of engaging, educational and community outreach components will facilitate the involvement of local audiences. 

"The inspiring stories of these women should be told and told again," said Cincinnati Museum Center president and CEO Douglass W. McDonald. "Cincinnati Museum Center is honored to create this extraordinary exhibit and can only hope that we can provide an extension to the legacies of these strong, courageous and trailblazing women." 

 "These 20 women left not a footnote but a footprint on American history," said SITES Director Anna R. Cohn. "Many of their stories may not be well known, but their roles and contributions were monumental in shaping our country and its conscience."

The exhibition has been embraced by a prestigious National Committee of Honor. Members of the Freedom's Sisters Committee of Honor include Quincy Jones, Mae Jemison, General Colin Powell, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cathy Hughes, Sheila Johnson, Elizabeth Eckford, Johnetta Cole and a wide range of national dignitaries, reflecting the exhibitions broad appeal.

Organized around four themes - "Dare to Dream," "Inspire Lives" "Serve the Public" and "Look to the Future" - "Freedom's Sisters" is designed especially as an educational tool targeting students. Historical simulations and interactive displays are being set up to drive home messages and meanings central to each woman's life.