Through Sun 4/9
Back in 2016, the Maltz Museum hosted an exhibit called This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. It featured the work of nine photographers who captured the fight for African-American voting rights in the south in the 1960s, offering an inspiring message of activism and persistence in the face of violent resistance.
That exhibit has been touring the country and returned to the Maltz Museum in October, just in time for another election in an era when voting rights are under increasing threat. We’re now seeing the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning parts of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, along with mixed decisions on redistricting and increased voter restrictions designed to mute the voices of Black voters.
More than 150 black & white photos are on view, divided into five sections: Black Life in the Deep South, Organizing for Freedom, State and Local Terror, Marching Against Fear, and Black Power. The museum expanded the exhibit with video footage, life-size installations, and material about voter suppression today (there’s plenty of that!)
“We added a new section for this run on voter suppression,” says the museum’s managing director David Schafer. “What happened 50 years ago is highly relevant to what is happening today.”
And you have a little more time to catch the show — which you really should. The images are powerful. It’s been extended through April 9. For more information go to maltzmuseum.org/TLO.