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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Lifestyles

Civil Rights Movement art on display for MLK day

Teri Robinson

Images of African-Americans and Caucasians peaceably protesting, being beaten, and jailed are only some on display for the “Road to the Promised Land” exhibit in the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, borrowed from the non-profit organization, Humanities Texas.

The exhibit begins with the Civil Rights Movement, starting when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a Caucasian man in Montgomery, Alabama. Following Parks’ arrest, African-Americans boycotted, the buses for 382 days. During the boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for the first time for helping organize a bus boycott protest.

An AP photograph of a freedom rider after he was mercilessly beaten is on display as part of the “Road to the Promised Land” exhibit in the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. —Photo by Teri Robinson
An AP photograph of a freedom rider after he was mercilessly beaten is on display as part of the “Road to the Promised Land” exhibit in the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. —Photo by Teri Robinson

A display of leaders who risked their lives, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Marcus Garvey, is toward the beginning of the exhibit and sets the flow. Following those, images from King sitting in the Birmingham Jail, walking in the March on Washington and  the Selma March, and King’s funeral procession lay out the Civil Rights Movement.

Walking through the exhibit, emotions ranging from anger to sadness may be experienced. Some images show the graphic experiences African-Americans and Caucasians dealt with while peaceably fighting for the end of segregation.

As part of the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X is briefly shown. This display depicts images of violence and quotes by King during that time of the movement. King was against the use of violence to end segregation, while Malcolm X and his followers believed violence was the only way to reach a solution.

King moved to Chicago, where African-Americans’ quality of life was deteriorating. After only living there for a short time, King expressed even his family’s attitude was negatively impacted, and he knew something had to change.

While in Memphis, King was quoted saying, “I think I made one mistake. I underestimated the depth of hate in America.”

This came after being in Memphis and witnessing the depth of hate many Caucasians had for African-Americans.

“We brought [the exhibit] in for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History month,” Sarah Polak, director of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, said.

Polak added that the exhibit ties with classes on campus and it is their hope “to stimulate great discussions.”

The exhibit is displayed for easy viewing, and images quickly pull the viewer in, flowing the through text and quotes from various influential people during the movement.