Ernest C. Withers, Sanitation Workers Assembling for a Solidarity March, Memphis, March 28, 1968, Gelatin silver print, 8 ½ x 14 ¾ in., National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Museum Purchase.[/caption]
Union, N.J. - For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights, a nationally touring exhibition from NEH on the Road, opens April 6 at Kean University’s Human Rights Institute Gallery. Through a compelling assortment of photographs, television clips, art posters, and historic artifacts, the exhibition traces how images and media disseminated to the American public transformed the modern civil rights movement and jolted Americans out of a state of denial or complacency.
“At Kean University, we recently commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to campus in 1961. This exhibition reflects Kean’s proud history on civil rights and engages our students, our diverse campus, and the community to think about how images and media can influence us, even on important issues such as social justice and equality,” said Neil Tetkowski, director of University Galleries.
Visitors to the immersive display will explore dozens of compelling and persuasive visual images, including photographs from influential magazines, such as LIFE, JET, andEBONY; CBS news footage; and TV clips from The Ed Sullivan Show. Also included are civil rights-era objects that exemplify the range of negative and positive imagery—from Aunt Jemima syrup dispensers and 1930s produce advertisements to Jackie Robinson baseball ephemera and 1960s children’s toys with African American portraiture. For All the World to See is an exploration of the vast number of potent images that influenced how Americans perceived race and the struggle for equality.
The opening reception will be held on April 14, from 5 - 8 p.m. The exhibition will be open until May 17. The Human Rights Institute Gallery is open Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. - 4p.m., free admission. For additional information call 908-737-4650.
For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights was curated by Maurice Berger, Ph.D., research professor at The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, University of Maryland Baltimore County. It was co-organized by The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. For All the World to See has been made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). It has been adapted and is being toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). Founded in 1972, Mid-America Arts Alliance is the oldest regional nonprofit arts organization in the United States. For more information, visit www.maaa.org or www.nehontheroad.org.
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