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Community Corner

MARCH ON! Photographs by Tom Artin of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

This exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom held on August 28, 1963.  On that day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his profoundly moving "I Have a Dream" speech.  Tom Artin, a 24-year-old participant in the march, had brought along his Nikon F, just in case.  Having neither press credentials nor telephoto lenses, he could not photograph Dr. King or any of the celebrities on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  But he focused on the multitude of citizens who had come, by the hundreds of thousands, to demand and end to racist segregation, discrimination, and intolerance throughout the United States.  

He had only one roll of film.  With it he captured a sense of the diversity and vitality of this group of Americans who came together in the largest demonstration for human rights in our history and truly changed the world.  In 1964 the historic Civil Rights Act was passed, followed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965. 

Artin, now a resident of Sparkill, has created an exhibit of the images from that day, which, accompanied by his introductory essay, have also been published as a book.  He will host an opening reception for the exhibit on Sunday, July 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., and will make copies of the book available for purchase and signing.



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