This week, the country is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In reviewing who and what is being recognized and given credit for the ultimate signing of this groundbreaking legislation, I noticed among the different recognitions being featured, none addressed the role of the artists during the Civil Rights Movement. There were many artists whose work was created with the use of the social justice lens.
The 1960s and 1970s cultural movement was begun by African American artists and arose during a time when Black people were engaged in struggles for liberation and equality. Not only in America, but around the world. African American artists’ use of literature, theater and the visual arts told the story of the inhumane treatment inflicted upon a particular class of people during a dark period in our country.
For example, in 1955, photographer David Jackson spent a great amount of his career documenting unjust and unreasonable treatment of African Americans during the Jim Crow segregation in the South. It was Jackson who chronicled the controversial images of Emmett Till for Jet magazine. The visions of the teen’s open casket became synonymous with the brutal lynchings that victimized southern Blacks.
Also in 1955, Brooklyn sketch artists Harvy Dinnerstein and Burton Silverman traveled to Alabama during the Montgomery bus boycott, spending several days drawing Montgomery’s African American citizens walking and carpooling. They sketched the speeches they witnessed from community leaders and civil rights activists as well as the trial that challenged the segregation of public transportation. Their drawings included visuals of expressive portraits and courtroom drama that marked the bus boycott as a turning point in the struggle for civil rights.
Another photographer, Benedict J. Fernandez, documented the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the activists who surrounded him. Fernandez followed King for the last few years of his life taking note of his activities. His photographs highlighted King’s allies, rallies, and the realities of life during the movement.
These are only a few of the artists whose endless catalogs of creative pieces recorded the movements of the civil rights activists. These artists’ contributions were also a catalyst for the change that led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Earlier this year, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities paid homage to this momentous occasion with the exhibition, “Legacy: Civil Rights at 60,” which featured the work of local DMV visual artists. These artists submitted their interpretations of what the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to them today and how the landmark legislation influenced their pieces.
Included in the exhibition was District artist Roderick Turner’s “Remembering the Dream #2,” which depicts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sitting, reading a myriad of books and newspapers. Another was Denise Wright’s, “Little Girl at Civil Rights Rally.” A photograph of a child leaning on the podium where the speeches were given during the most recent March on Washington. Also included in the exhibition was Cooper Joslin’s “T is Terrific,” his way of informing us that LGBTQI rights are also civil rights, and Paula Stern’s bust of former South African President and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.
Therefore, I ask that everyone please not disregard the many contributions to civil rights made by artists past and present. They are the keepers of the notes, and the stories. They are the documentarians. They are the individuals responsible for the images that showed authorities attacking peaceful protesters with fire hoses and police dogs. It was those very images seen around the world that were an impetus for the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These are the images of America’s creatives. These are the images of the artists.
View the “Legacy: Civil Rights at 60” virtual gallery at DCarts.dc.gov/page/legacy-civilrights-60.
Aaron Myers is director of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.