In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (eye).In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Gary Chassman, Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, Dr. Helen M. Shannon Publishers' Group West, January 2002, $39.95 ISBN 0-965-37665-6 In the Spirit of Martin brings to book format the traveling museum exhibition of the same name, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution, research and education center, at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of . The collection, which is edited by Gary Chassman, Gretchen Sullivan Sorin and Helen M. Shannon--the latter two also curated the exhibit--includes visual art and text organized thematically around Martin Luther King's legacy. John Biggers, Romare Bearden, Norman Rockwell, Gordon Parks and Andy Warhol are among the artists in Spirit whose works are paired with historical texts and essays. For example, Robert Rauschenberg's "28 Famous Murders with Poems," a mixed media sculpture, is juxtaposed jux·ta·pose tr.v. jux·ta·posed, jux·ta·pos·ing, jux·ta·pos·es To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. with a historical account of King's assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. . Faith Ringgold's "Dream 2 and the Sisterhood sisterhood: see monasticism. ," which includes King's image sewn into a panel of her story quilt, represent the more obvious references. Among the essayists The following is an abbreviated list of essayists, arranged alphabetically by last name (years of birth and death, if applicable, and country of birth, are noted in parentheses). Note: An individual's country of birth is not always indicative of his or her nationality. included in Spirit are Julius Lester, Bernice Johnson Reagon Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon (born October 4, 1942) is a singer, composer, scholar, and social activist, who founded the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1973. , Stanley Crouch, June Jordan and Nikki Giovanni. Each writer explores those issues that are part of King's Civil Rights legacy--racial equality, nonviolence and social justice--in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways. In the Spirit of Martin includes an excerpt from Alice Walker's 1983 book, In Search of Our Mother's Gardens, that reflects that subtle presence: "He was The One, The Hero, The One Fearless Person for whom we had waited. I hadn't even realized before that we had been waiting for Martin Luther King, Jr., but we had. And I knew it for sure when my mother added his name to the list of people she prayed for every night." --Kathleen Anderson is an educator based in western Massachusetts. |
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