A "Journey Toward Freedom"

On Wednesday, February 2, the Ewers Center at College of Central Florida held the Journey Toward Freedom Exhibit, a collection of black history artifacts over the centuries.

The care taker of the exhibit, Leroy Chandler, gave a very powerful lecture during the exhibit, which began at 8 a.m. The lecture, which began at noon, talked of how unfairly slaves were treated during both their time here in the United States and during the period when they were being brought over in the ships.

"Ships would have 500 slaves crammed in boats meant to carry just 300," Chandler said.

Chandler stated that for every one slave that made it to America, four would die. That is a number most incredible due to the millions of slaves that did make it here.

The audience, which consisted of somewhere close to a hundred people, was very attentive and holding on to every word Chandler spoke, taking notes and sitting in stunned silence at some of the statements.

The exhibit itself carried many artifacts from the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries. Such items included arm and leg shackles, which bound the slaves together, and an anti-escape device, which consisted of a chain and an ankle brace with three long, sharp prongs on the sides.

Other items the exhibit carried were more recent things, such as pictures of President Barack Obama, ranging from his signs from the election to dollar bills with his face on them, with the numbers 2008 and 2009 on them where the monetary value would be held.

Chandler, along with the help of a good number of people, compiled this entire exhibit for us to enjoy. Chandler stated that the exhibit took about ten to twelve hours to completely set up, and he has been doing this exhibit for close to a decade.

"I do this exhibit to bring knowledge, not out of anger," Chandler said. 

Chandler says that he is part of just the third generation of his family who was not enslaved.

During the exhibit, many people would go around the room slowly, looking at the many things it had to offer. There were many books with African American writers, a compilation of albums from black singers and songwriters, as well as other interesting items, such as a picture of the "First Colored World Series", which took place in October of 1924 between the Kansas City Monarchs and the Hilldale Club.

Behind Chandler during his lecture was a wall of pictures which had important people in the history of African American progression through the centuries, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Obama.

"We cannot step on another man's neck to stop his progress, for as we stand there, we prevent our own progress," Chandler said.