Gilcrease Museum Hosts Final Exhibit Before Closing For Renovations

An exhibit at the Gilcrease Museum shows the journey of African slavery to freedom in America.

It's on display until Sunday before the museum closes for a few years for renovations. The exhibit is called “Enslavement to Emancipation: Toward a More Perfect Union.”

The first and oldest document is a letter from 1520 written by Christopher Colombus' son Diego to the King of Spain. He asked for permission to bring slaves into the Spanish Empire in America.

"It's literally the beginning of African slavery here in the Americas,” Gilcrease Museum Curator of History Mark Dolph said.

The second is the only known surviving handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Lastly, the third is an authorized copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

"He authorized the printing of 48 copies. Ours is one of those 48,” Dolph said.

Dolph says the three pieces tell a story.

"They're almost in a conversation with each other about these ideas and ideals of independence, of liberty, of equality,” Dolph said.

It's been a summer of history in Tulsa marking the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, commemorating the end of slavery on Juneteenth and Sunday on Independence Day, celebrating our freedom.

Dolph hopes this exhibit helps people to reflect and remember.

"See where we've come from, how far we've come, but in some cases, how much further we still have to go,” Dolph said.

For more information about the exhibits visit: Enslavement to Emancipation: Toward a More Perfect Union - Gilcrease Museum