Martin Luther King Jr. by Mural

Photographer Camilo José Vergara captures varying portrayals of the civil rights leader in urban areas across the United States

  • By Jess Righthand
  • Smithsonian.com, January 12, 2011
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Martin Luther King Jr murals Martin Luther King Jr murals Martin Luther King Jr murals Martin Luther King Jr murals Martin Luther King Jr murals
Martin Luther King Jr murals

(Camilo José Vergara)


King with Duke Ellington, New York City (photographed in 2008)

King is pictured here between jazz pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington and a local politician. This painting is outside of a community center at the Marcy Houses, a Brooklyn housing project that has become widely known as the childhood home of rapper Jay-Z. The project consists of 27 six-story buildings and covers nearly 29 acres, housing about 4,300 residents.

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Comments (3)

"King is pictured here between jazz pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington and a local politician."

Incorrect. King is on the right.

A beautiful selection of murals honoring Martin Luther King. Here is another one:

http://www.vimeo.com/18855173

On the upcoming occasion of the Martin Luther King Day of Service, one thing that can be done to honor Dr. King's legacy is ensuring that the Pentagon spend an adequate amount of money to recover the remains of our World War II missing in action, many of whom were African-Americans, such as the following MIA Tuskegee Airmen (courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch): Lt. Albert L. Young, F/O Carl J. Woods, Lt. William F. Williams Jr., Lt.Sherman H. White Jr., Lt. James R. Polkinghorne, F/O Leland H. Pennington, Lt. Andrew D. Marshall, Captain Andrew Maples Jr., Lt. Oscar D. Hutton Jr., Lt. Wellington G. Irving, Lt. Fred L. Brewer Jr., Lt. John H. Chavis, Capt. Alfonzo W. Davis, Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, Lt. Maurice V. Esters, Lt. Samuel J. Foreman, Lt. Frederick D. Funderburg Jr., Lt. Samuel Jefferson, Lt. Charles B. Johnson, and Lt. Samuel G. Leftenant. The Defense Department has historically treated its MIA remains recovery program like a neglected stepchild, requesting a level of funding that is nowhere near the amount needed to recover the remains of the tens of thousands still missing. Please support substantially increased funding for location and recovery of the remains of our heroic missing Tuskegee Airmen, and all the other missing soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Their families deserve nothing less.

Gary Zaetz
Project Homecoming



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