For Immediate Release                                                                                                       Contact: Amy VanCamp
January 4th, 2022                                                                                                                 503-799-4874 (cell)

   Award-Winning Exhibit Closing Soon

Two weeks left to see “Fighting for the Right to Fight: 
African American Experiences in World War II” at The Historic Trust

A special exhibit called Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II, is nearing the end of its stay in Vancouver.  Produced by the National WWII Museum and hosted by The Historic Trust, the exhibit features artifacts, photographs and oral histories to highlight some of the extraordinary achievements and challenges of African Americans during World War II.

“I took a friend to check it out and found that to call this an ‘exhibit’ doesn’t do it justice. It tells such a powerful, emotional and still very timely story,” said Graham M., who visited from Portland, OR. “Everyone, young and old, should go before this important piece of history goes back to the WWII Museum.”  

The exhibit will be on display through January 15, 2022. Through a myriad of interactive experiences, visitors will discover the wartime stories of individual service members who took part in this journey of extraordinary challenge, from unheralded heroes to famous names, including Alex Haley (US Coast Guard); Sammy Davis Jr. (US Army); Benjamin Davis, Jr. (US Army Air Corps/US Air Force); Medgar Evers (US Army) and more.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is an original eight-minute video about the famed 332nd Fighter Group (better known as the Tuskegee Airmen), who in many ways became the public focus of African American participation during the war. The piece is narrated by television personality Robin Roberts, whose own father flew with the Tuskegee Airmen during the war.

The traveling exhibit is open to the public Wednesday to Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Artillery Barracks building located at 600 Hatheway Road, at Vancouver’s National Historic Reserve.

The Trust is grateful to the national sponsor, Wells Fargo, and our local sponsors Empire Hospitality, City of Vancouver, Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, Waste Connections, Schlotfeldt Law Firm, and Salsbury & Co. Our local community partners are the NAACP - Vancouver Branch, Community Military Appreciation Committee, and the Vancouver Barracks Military Association. Additional funding has been provided by Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden.

You can learn more about the Fighting for the Right to Fight exhibit at: www.thehistorictrust.org.

#    #     #

About The Historic Trust: The Historic Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire civic pride and economic vitality through education, celebration, and preservation of the Southwest Washington community's history. Learn more at www.thehistorictrust.org.