While Emory University has a full calendar of offerings for the upcoming King Week, Emory Libraries and the Carlos Museum will recognize King Week and Black History Month in February with events, exhibits and resources of their own.
Events and exhibits
Emory Libraries’ Research and Engagement Services and Scholarly Communications instruction team will host a pop-up library at Wonderful Wednesday on Jan. 22 and provide a selection of Martin Luther King Jr.–related books and streaming films to check out, which are featured in this blog post (more on that later in this blog). Other resources mentioned in the blog are available at Woodruff Library.
Danny Lyon, A Toddle House in Atlanta Has the Distinction of Being Occupied During a Sit-In by Some of the Most Effective Organizers in America When the SNCC Staff and Supporters Take a Break from a Conference to Demonstrate, 1963. Gift of Dinesh Gauba and Sheila Dobee, 2018. © Danny Lyon. Image courtesy Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University
The Carlos Museum presents a special installation of two photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and young civil rights activists taken by photojournalist Danny Lyon, who created some of the most iconic images of the civil rights movement while he served as staff photographer for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. The installation runs Jan. 14-26 in the rotunda at the Carlos. More information.
On Friday, Feb. 14, the Rose Library will celebrate the birthday of the abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass with its annual Douglass Day event from 12-3 p.m in the Rose Library (Level 10 of the Woodruff Library). It’s an annual national program that began in 2017 to commemorate the birthday of civil rights leader Frederick Douglass through the transcription of archival materials related to Black history. Once transcribed, these materials are made freely accessible through the Library of Congress. This event, which is free and open to the public (please bring your own laptop to work on if you’re able), will include birthday cupcakes (an annual highlight) and the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Archival materials related to Black history from the Rose Library collections will be on display. See schedule and more details. Registration is requested (but not required).
Transcribing and enjoying cupcakes and conversation at last year’s Douglass Day event in the Rose Library.
Coming to the Woodruff Library in February: “Hello Darling”: The Life, Legacy, and Love of C.T. and Octavia Vivian, a small panel exhibit to be displayed on Level 2, showing images of items from the Rev. C.T. Vivian and Octavia Vivian collection at the Rose Library. The lifelong civil rights activist (who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and his wife, a community organizer who worked to end segregation and increase voter registration, placed their papers with the Rose Library. Curated by Gabrielle M. Dudley, an archivist and Rose’s assistant director of public services, the exhibit will include images of letters, including one C.T. wrote to Octavia from jail; pamphlets on the VISION project, which helped connect high school students with colleges; and an invitation to the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Exhibit dates are forthcoming; check the Rose Library exhibition page for updates. This free exhibit will be open to the public.
Resources
To celebrate King Week on your own or at home, Woodruff Library has a wealth of resources on King, including books (as well as ebooks and audiobooks), documentaries, and films (both streaming and physical copies for checkout). Read the blog by African American Studies and US history librarian Erica Bruchko for details. While the call number links are provided for Emory access, members of the public can also search for these recommended titles at their county libraries.
—by Maureen McGavin, senior writer