This event has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 27, 2025 from its originally scheduled date of May 24, 2025.
An evening of live music and the march toward freedom.
Enjoy an evening of live entertainment, stirring speeches, and a powerful call to action as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center honors four heroes with its highest honor – the International Freedom Conductor Award. Plus, enjoy multiple live music performances from the Cincinnati Opera, Adrian Dunn and his own Adrian Dunn Singers, as well as Mali Music.
This year, the Freedom Center will honor:
- Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth
- Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize- and Nobel Prize-winning author of The Bluest Eye and Beloved
- Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and first African American Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling-author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Enjoy live performances from:
- The Cincinnati Opera, North America’s second oldest opera company
- Adrian Dunn, critically acclaimed singer, composer and conductor, with his 12-person Adrian Dunn Singers
- Mali Music, award-winning singer-songwriter and producer renowned for his gospel hip-hop sound
In celebration of these innovators, black-tie attire is encouraged but not required.
