Fresh off the heels of the opening of the Freedom’s Sisters interactive exhibition in Jackson, Miss., Pamela Alexander is back at her office in Dearborn, Mich., operating at a spirited pace to bring both community and corporate initiatives to fruition. Alexander, the director of Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, works with organizations and institutions to advance the causes of education, heritage, community life and driving safety. In addition, through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and retirees work on projects that better communities the world over.
“The women honored in Freedom’s Sisters are an inspiration to people of all ages and backgrounds. Ford is proud to fund the national exhibition celebrating women who have truly changed our country and our world,” extols Alexander. “The exhibition, which opened on the 50th anniversary celebration of the Freedom Riders, is intended to not only honor 20 of the most notable black women in the nation’s history, it is also an educational tool featuring interactive displays around themes and events central to each woman’s life.”
Freedom’s Sisters honoree, Myrlie Evers-Williams, a human rights activist and wife of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, gave the keynote address at the exhibition’s opening ceremony. Members of the Freedom’s Sisters Committee of Honor include such luminaries as Quincy Jones, Dr. Mae Jemison, General Colin Powell and Patti LaBelle, along with an assortment of national dignitaries.
Ford Motor Company Fund has distributed more than $1.3 billion to thousands of nonprofit organizations throughout the United States over its 60-year history and has helped build and maintain communities through its relationships with organizations like America Promise, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. Most recently, it sponsored the 7th Annual NAACP Hollywood Bureau Symposium and Reception, which was held at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in Hollywood. At this event, the Ford Motor Company Fund presented a $10,000 check to Sophie’s Voice Foundation, an organization created by actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker in honor of their daughter, Sophie, who was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth.
The Freedom’s Sisters Exhibit was created by the Cincinnati Museum Center and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution. The national tour is made possible by the Ford Motor Company Fund. For more information, call the Smith Robertson Museum at 601.960.1457.
