Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit on Democracy Coming to Library

At the Library is submitted by staff at the Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston each month.

The Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street, in cooperation with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Lincoln Parish Library, presents “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America.”

This exhibition examines the nearly 250-year-old American experiment of a government “of, by and for the people,” and how each generation since continues to question how to form “a more perfect union.” Opening at the Lincoln Parish Library and Events Center on April 18, “Voices and Votes” will be on view through May 27.

The Lincoln Parish Library has been chosen to host “Voices and Votes” as part of the Museum on Main Street program-a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations.

“Voices and Votes” explores the action, reaction, vision and revision that democracy demands as Americans continue to question how to shape the country. Exhibition sections explore the origins of American democracy, the struggles to obtain and keep the vote, the machinery of democracy, the right to petition and protest beyond the ballot and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

“Voices and Votes” features historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives with short games; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.

“‘Voice and Votes’ allows us to reflect on Lincoln Parish’s history and explore what it means to be an active participant in the governance of not only the country but also this community,” said Lincoln Parish Library Interim Director, Marcie Nelson. “We want to convene conversations about and have developed local exhibitions and public programs to compliment the Smithsonian exhibition.”

Such free events include an opening reception on April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Events Center, a book talk with Louisiana author Stanley Nelson on April 28 at 6 p.m. in the Events Center and Lincoln Parish Registrar of Voters Registration Drive and “Duck for President” story time May 26 at 6 p.m. in the Community Room.

Designed for small-town museums, libraries and cultural organizations, “Voices and Votes” will serve as a community meeting place for conversations about democracy, the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens, participating in government, and more.

“Voices and Votes” is based on an exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith.

The exhibition is part of the Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions.

To learn more about “Voices” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit museumonmainstreet.org and The Lincoln Parish Library’s website www.mylpl.org.