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Memorial poster for Martin Luther King, Jr.

Object Details

Description
This screen print, printing ink on paper, poster memorializes Martin Luther King, Jr. [MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 1929 1968 / HE DIED TO MAKE MEN FREE] is printed over red and white stripes, resembling the American flag, in the middle, right of the poster. A dark blue image of King, in the upper left of the poster, has an excerpt of King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 on top of it. The text reads: [The question is not whether we will be extremist~ but what kind of extremist we will be~ / Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for LOVE? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or ~ will we be extremists for the cause of justice?]. The bottom of the poster has a portion of King’s I Have a Dream speech [I HAVE A DREAM / THAT MY FOUR CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTERS / LITTLE BLACK BOYS & LITTLE BLACK GIRLS WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD HANDS WITH LITTLE WHITE BOYS & LITTLE WHITE GIRLS AS BROTHERS & SISTERS]. Below the text is a drawing of children holding hands. The lower right corner has [Edie Brown Eisenberg 1968 ©].
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Created by
Edie Brown Eisenberg, American, 1920 - 2012
Subject of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
Date
1968
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Medium
printing ink on paper (fiber product)
Dimensions
H x W: 30 × 40 3/16 in. (76.2 × 102.1 cm)
Type
screen prints
posters

Featured In

  • 1968: A Year in the Collections
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue
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