The Art Rage Gallery opens a new exhibit on Feb. 7 that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights marches and showcases powerful photographs from the 1965 Selma March.
"Selma to Montgomery, March at 50" is a two-month long exhibit that features panels and performances as well as pictures from Matt Herron, a Civil Rights photographer. Herron covered the Civil Rights Movement for several magazines including Life, Newsweek and Time. Art Rage community organizer Kimberly McCoy said Herron was devoted to documenting the protests, even if that meant putting himself in some risky situations.
"He was pretty familiar with police confrontation, but also he wanted to get the photo," said Kimberly McCoy, a community organizer for Art Rage. "I think he was really willing to put his body on the line sometimes. Trying to get up there with your camera can definitely make you vulnerable."
The exhibit also ties into Syracuse history by documenting what happened in Central New York at the time of the protests. The Art Rage Gallery interviewed and photographed about 25 people, who worked on issues of housing discrimination, employment for African Americans and urban renewal in Central New York.
"(The purpose) is to remind people of the heroes of the Civil Rights activity in our own community, those who went down and connected with work in the south or those who worked on important issues in Syracuse," Art Rage board member Bob Gates said. "Just listening to these people and meeting these people has been wonderful to get a sense of how many people in a community like Syracuse were involved."
The display coincides with the recent release of the movie Selma, a historical film about the protests of the sixties. McCoy said she didn’t know about the film when she started planning for the exhibit about a year ago. She added that the movie has reminded the public about the importance of Selma, which brought international attention to segregation in the south and unequal voting rights policies.
"The film coming out has made this anniversary more well known to the general public," McCoy said. "It just has brought it so much more into the general consciousness to people. Some people, I think, didn't know what Selma was so now I think there's a little bit of knowledge out there whether or not you know the whole story."
Many events are scheduled during the exhibit's run at the gallery. One Feb. 16th titled "Remembering Why We Struggle: Reflections on Selma ~ Then & Now", connects the history of the 1960's with today's society. Gates said contemporary issues of racism show that there's still work left to be done.
"There are many places in this country where people are being discouraged from voting by new laws that are passed to limit their rights," Gates said. "A lot has changed and a lot has remained the same about racial discrimination and voter discrimination in this country. We need to be reminded of that."
An opening reception will be held Saturday, Feb. 7th from 7 to 9 p.m. at the ArtRage Gallery on Hawley Ave. For a full list of events through the end of the exhibit March 28th, go to www.artragegallery.org.