Calling our beautiful black brothers....

Photograph to be taken by critically acclaimed photographer, Chester Higgins, Jr.

80 Hanson Place, (corner of South Portland)
Thursday, September 25th 5:30pm-8pm

Brooklyn, New York 11217

I AM A MAN
On view
September 25, 2008 - January 18th, 2009

Curated by Kevin Powell
Organized by Laurie Cumbo and Kimberli Gant

If you are interested in participating in the photographic recreation of the I AM A MAN March, please arrive at MoCADA at 5:30 PM.

The Opening Reception for the I AM A MAN exhibition will begin with a gathering of Black Men from all over New York City who will pay homage to the courageous men who stood strong holding their I AM A MAN protest signs in 1968 by wearing a contemporary t-shirt version of that sign designed by artist Derrick Adams outside of MoCADA prior to the opening reception. This historic moment will be recorded by photographic icon Chester Higgins, Jr. MoCADA is inviting all men who wish to participate to arrive at MoCADA at 5:30pm.

The photo is limited to the first 200 men that arrive at MoCADA.

... About the I AM A MAN exhibition The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) is proud to present the timely and provocative exhibition I AM A MAN. February 1968 saw 1,300 African American Sanitation workers strike to demand their basic rights to organize a union, to gain a living wage, and to garner respect and dignity deserving of all working men and women. The Civil Rights Leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., eventually came to Memphis to support the strikers and was subsequently assassinated. From those dramatic events, one phrase emerged that continues to inspire community activists forty years later, "I AM A MAN." With this theme, twelve artists have been selected to create new work that immortalizes the 1968 workers strike as well as a reflection of their interpretation of what it means to be an African American man in America in 2008, forty years after the sanitation workers strike and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. This group exhibition includes a dynamic combination of painters, photographers, film makers and video artists: Hank Willis Thomas, Russell Frederick, Rah Crawford, Radcliff Bailey, Charly Palmer, Leroy Henderson, Fahamu Pecou, Jefferson Pinder, Jamel Shabazz, Lorenzo Steele, Jr., Juan Sanchez and Ernest Withers.