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Faith Ringgold

Letter from Birmingham City Jail

Maker

Faith Ringgold (American, b. 1930)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (American, 1929 - 1968), author
Limited Editions Club, publisher

Title

Letter from Birmingham City Jail

Year

2008

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, gold foil, linen, cardboard

Supports

Geography

Place Made: New York

Dimensions

37.2 x 31.8 x 2.9 cm (14 5/8 x 12 1/2 x 1 1/8 inches) book

Signature / Inscription / Marks

signed "Faith Ringgold" in graphote on page 57, with the edition "126" given in graphite (from a total of 420)

Identification

Edition

126/420

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

2009.85

Type

Exhibition History

Former Glory
Jul 27, 2018 – Jan 20, 2019

Label copy

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, with 50 other demonstrators for nonviolent resistance. From his jail cell, he wrote a response to eight white clergymen who had chastised the “confrontational” nature of civil rights movement tactics, calling for protestors’ “peaceful obedience” of the law, which allowed segregation. In his letter, King defends nonviolent direct action and the necessity of civil disobedience in confronting injustice.

Artist-activist Faith Ringgold has illustrated King’s letter in eight serigraphs. Here, two “colored” children are denied access to Funtown, an Atlanta amusement park. The flags flying over what seems to be a wholesome American scene ask viewers to consider how many people have been systematically excluded from activities and institutions in service to whiteness.

Drawing Conclusions
Jan 22, 2016 – Sep 25, 2016

Label copy

In this book, iconic scenes from the civil rights movement accompany a letter Dr. King wrote while jailed in Birmingham, Alabama. Ringgold reflects in the introduction, “What [King] has to say about the life and struggle of black people in America is a treatise on freedom and justice and a model for democracy in the world.”

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Faith Ringgold (American, b. 1930)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (American, 1929 - 1968), author
Limited Editions Club, publisher
Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 2008
Book containing eight color screenprints
37.2 x 31.8 x 2.9 cm (14 5/8 x 12 1/2 x 1 1/8 inches) book
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 2009.85

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