Lewis H. Latimer — the son of escaped slaves and inventor of the filament in Thomas Edison's light bulb — would be proud of his corporate descendants at General Electric Co.

        One of the nation's largest suppliers of electrical equipment, GE said Tuesday it would donate $1 million to help bring to light the opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Choir members who will perform at the Freedom Center's groundbreaking hold GE candles Tuesday as they rehearse at House of Joy Christian Ministries.< (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        The $65 million museum center, to open in 2004 along the Riverfront near Paul Brown Stadium, will commemorate white abolitionists, Native Americans and free blacks who risked their lives to aid escaped slaves seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad.

        “It's a privilege to be part of history in the making,” said Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of Evendale-based subsidiary GE Aircraft Engines, who announced the donation Tuesday. “The Freedom Center will be one of the most important cultural institutions in our nation.”

        GE, one of 18 corporate and individual benefactors who have donated $1 million or more to the Freedom Center, will also provide the lights for a sparkling tribute to the history of the Underground Railroad.

        As part of the Freedom Center's groundbreaking Monday, a 500-member community choir will march across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, from Kentucky to Ohio, singing and carrying battery-operated candles provided by GE. The bridge will be lit with thousands of lights, also from GE.

        Mr. Calhoun delivered the news to a packed house at House of Joy Christian Ministries in College Hill, where the choir was wrapping up its final rehearsal holding the electric candles.

        “Song has accompanied every social movement for change,” said Catherine Roma, one of two choir directors. “Gathering singers represent the power and the meaning of the Underground Railroad.”

        The lights are symbolic of the candle-lit windows that signaled safe passage for escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad. The loosely constructed network of secret travel routes originated in the South, intertwined throughout the north and west, and eventually ended in Canada.

        Mr. Latimer's parents were among those who used the Underground Railroad to escape slavery in Virginia.

        The lights also represent the light at the end of the tunnel that Freedom Center supporters can now see, in part, because of GE's contribution.

        Ed Rigaud, Freedom Center president and CEO, said GE's gift has pushed the fund-raising total above $76 million — $34 million short of its $110 million goal.

        “This is a timely, and much appreciated, gift leading up to the June 17 groundbreaking,” Mr. Rigaud said.

        Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali will top a list of national entertainers, dignitaries and government officials in attendance at the groundbreaking, from 7 to 10 p.m. on the Cincinnati banks of the Ohio River.

        The ceremonies will include a minifestival, food and craft vendors, and family-oriented entertainment.
       

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