Photojournalist Judy Spencer
and poet Deanna Blackwell
spent a year documenting life
along Martin Luther King
Drive, a predominantly black
neighborhood in Springfield.
They began the project on
January 20, 1997, the national
holiday commemorating the
life and work of the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1961, King used the phrase
"Don'cha get weary" in an
inspirational message to the
Freedom Riders. He wanted
to encourage those fighting for
civil rights to remain steadfast
and find comfort in the
knowledge the struggle was not
in vain.
Spencer and Blackwell
wanted to celebrate those who
live and work along the street
named for King. They could
have chosen any street in the
state, but their choice of the
capital city seems appropriate.
Springfield was Abraham
Lincoln's hometown. It was
also the site of a 1908 race riot
that gave birth to a national
social and political movement
for the advancement of blacks,
the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People.
Spencer, a free-lance
photographer, is a regular
contributor to Illinois Issues.
Blackwell is a graduate student
in African-American Studies at
the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. Their
work will be shown January 3
through January 31 at Fusion
Gallery, 2933 North Lincoln
Avenue, Chicago.
Special thanks to the people
along Martin Luther King
Drive for making the project
possible. |
A documentary
of life along Martin Luther King Drive
Photographs by Judy Spencer
Poems by Deanna Blackwell
|