On Tuesday, November 8th from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, the Maltz Museum invites the public to explore its newly opened special exhibition for free in honor of Voting Day! As relevant today as they were half a century ago, more than 150 black-and-white images chronicling the Southern Freedom Movement are featured in This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement on view through April 2, 2023, at the Maltz Museum (2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood, OH 44122; 216.593.0575; maltzmuseum.org).
This Light of Ours is based on a book of the same name edited by Leslie G. Kelen and features work by nine activist photographers who documented the clash between institutionalized discrimination and determined resistance by activists and volunteers during the mid-1960s. The stunning black-and-white photographs chronicle a pivotal time in American history that can be explored through interrelated sections: Black Life in the Deep South, Organizing for Freedom, State and Local Terror, Marching Against Fear, and Black Power. The Maltz Museum added video footage, life-size installations, and material about voter suppression today. Guests can hear directly from the photographers and curator using an audio tour, included with admission.
The exhibition originally premiered in Cleveland in 2016, traveled the country, and now returns home for its final showing in 2022. “We added a new section for this run,” explained David Schafer, the Museum’s Managing Director. “We are in a voting year, and this exhibition is about Americans participating in democracy. That’s why we chose to add a new section on voter suppression, then and now. What happened 50 years ago is highly relevant to what is happening today.” There is no better time than November 8, to encourage guests to view an exhibition about voting with free admission, than on the day ballots are being cast, explained Schafer.
For information, directions, and related programming, call 216.593.0575 or visit maltzmuseum.org.
