Proposals began circulating again in Congress in the early 1970s. At the same time, state officials in Ohio were also attempting to establish an African History museum. Wilberforce had been a major stop on the Underground Railroad (which helped enslaved black people find safe passage through northern states and into Canada), and the former site of Wilberforce University. In 1972, the state passed legislation agreeing to build a museum in Wilberforce.Ames, Franco, and Frye, p. 11. In 1981, Congress approved the creation of a National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce.
