[Program: Visual Arts Anniversary Salute] Page: 4 of 52
This pamphlet is part of the collection entitled: The Black Academy of Arts and Letters Records and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
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I Remember.. .
Greetings and Felicitations!
More than 24 months ago, I asked God if He would, at that point in my life, give me a greater challenge. Strangely enough, at
about four o'clock in the morning, just a few hours after I had finished reading James Farmer's book, "Lay Bare the Heart! An
Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement, "a thought came to me. I realized that we were quickly approaching the 30 year
anniversary of the historic March on Washington, and that we would soon be paying tribute to and remembering all that it
signified. As I got up pondering this thought, I picked up my pad and pencil and began to write. In about forty-five minutes, I had
scribed eight pages of notes all focusing, ironically, on what I, as a child growing up in Coldwater, Mississippi, had remembered
about the Civil Rights Movement and The March.
A couple of days had passed before I reviewed my notes. Something, however, kept tugging at me. I sat down again, read
over what I had written, and thus was born the idea for the "I Remember..." exhibit and concert. This "infant" idea grew quickly,
and was soon full grown, with "parents" and an endless list of "relatives" who have carefully nurtured its development. In fact, if I
had to name each one the task would be almost impossible - as the roster of brilliant minds from the many professions without
whose support and guidance this effort could not have come to fruition, is indeed impressive. These individuals have given of
themselves because each of them has personal "I Remember. . ." testimonies. They have given because they, too, believe in
historic realities, the United States and world democracy. And finally, they have given because each one knows what Margaret
Walker meant when she said in her piece, For My People, "Let the marital songs be written, let the dirges disappear. Let a race
of men now rise and take control."
These contributors are once again singing. They are calling up the hundreds of years of African ancestry that lay dormant in
their souls - the tradition of song. Our art, and particularly our music has always been the language of the African Americans'
struggle for freedom - the spirit and fervor have been ever present in our melodies - and during the Civil Rights Movement,
music played a central role in our fight for justice and freedom. As Newsweek magazine so aptly discerned, "History has never
known a protest movement so rich in song as the Civil Rights Movement. Nor a movement in which songs were so important. .
.at nightly get-out-the-vote meetings, singing always came first; the singers gilded with sweat starting off with "We've been 'buked
and we've been scorned, but we'll never turn back."
Thirty years ago, more than 250,000 U.S. citizens of every race, creed and color descended on Washington, D.C., to partici-
pate in the March on Washington. This mass demonstration was organized to bring attention to the racial injustices and eco-
nomic exploitation visited daily upon African Americans and other poor peoples. As then chair of the SNCC, John Lewis, stated
on that August day, "We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of. For hundreds of our brothers
and sisters are not here. They have no money for their transportation, for they are receiving starvation wages... or no wages at
all. While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi working for less than $3.00 a day for twelve hours of
work... We must have legislation that will protect the sharecropper who is put off his farm because he dares to register to vote.
We need a bill which provides for the homeless and the starving people of this nation."
Indeed, many of the issues that brought about the March on Washington are still with us today. We need to take, then, this
opportunity with this exhibition and concert to reflect on and rededicate ourselves to our struggle for economic justice and dignity.
We salute the hundreds of artists who responded to The Call and participated in the sit-ins, the mass meetings, the Freedom
Rides and fund raisers as well as those who registered new voters, taught in Freedom Schools and created art that would
ultimately fuel a movement for freedom and justice.
This sharing among artists and non-artists with a similar mission still goes on. It is that joint teamwork that has certainly been a
labor of love, and it is the essence of that love we wish to convey in the "I Remember..." exhibit and concert.
For their love and support, I would like to acknowledge the following: my mother, Ms. Elizabeth M. King; my brothers, Elmer
and Vernon King; my youngest brother and spiritual advisor, Chaplin Ronnie C. King; volunteers; my friends; patrons; the JBAAL
staff and Board; Janice Henderson; June Harris; the chorus; musicians; artists; the staff of the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts; the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum; Howard University; sponsors; churches; the
Reverend Dr. Marvis May, and my other Spiritual advisor and my pastor, the Reverend Dr. J. Lee Foster of Dallas, Texas.
The unyielding support and encouragement from these individuals have made me truly realize that faith is, indeed, "the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Curtis King
"I Remember.. ." Creator and Producer
2-U-,..-
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Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters. [Program: Visual Arts Anniversary Salute], pamphlet, August 1993; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1615481/m1/4/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.