In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President George Hanbury will speak alongside Isaac Newton Farris Jr., Martin Luther King Jr.’s nephew, at the opening for the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale’s exhibit “The Movement: Bob Adelman and Civil Rights Era Photography.”
Between 1963 and 1968, Adelman was a photographer for the Congress of Racial Equality, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and other civil rights organizations. Through his work, he established close ties with Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis and James Baldwin.
He has photographed cover stories for many national and international magazines, including Esquire, Time, The New York Times and Paris Match. His photographs have been exhibited at the Smithsonian and the American Federation of Arts.
The opening party will start at 5 p.m. on Jan. 18 with speeches by Hanbury and Farris, along with talks by photographer Bob Adelman and former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin. AutoNation Chairman and CEO Mike Jackson and Bonnie Clearwater, the museum’s chief curator and director, will also speak.
Following the presentation of the guest speakers, lights refreshments will be served. An exhibition opening reception will start at 6 p.m. during which attendees can preview the exhibit and speak with the featured guests.
Gary Gershman, history professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Humanities, said that the Civil Rights Act was a tremendously impactful effort in moving America toward an equal society and he hopes to take his students to the exhibit in the upcoming months. He said students should go to the exhibit because seeing the images will “hammer home” the impact of the events and individuals in a completely different way from simply reading about it.
The exhibit will run from Jan. 19 to May 17 and will feature 150 black-and-white and color photographs taken by Adelman from the Freedom Rides, the 1963 Birmingham demonstrations, the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral, among photographs that have never been published before.
Gershman said, “It’s important to celebrate [the Civil Rights Act] to remember where we were, where we are and where we need to be.”
The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required. For more information or to RSVP, email moareservations@moafl.org or call the museum at 954-262-0221.
