Nearly 60 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech (August 28, 1963), systemic problems such as racism, poverty and war, which Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the three evils”, are still pervasive in our society.

As Clayborne Carson, African-American historian and founding director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Education and Research in California, points out, “The issues addressed by Martin Luther King Jr. in particular the ideal of human rights and social justice in the world, are more relevant today than at any other time in history.”

The words of Martin Luther King Jr. have gone down in history. Trained to be a preacher, he became the leader of a unified movement, inspiring tens of millions to support the right of African Americans to freedom.

However, Martin Luther King Jr. saw the world as interconnected, and strove to defend the equality of all individuals and universal human rights. “We are caught in a web of inescapable reciprocity, bound by one and the same destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects the others indirectly”, he wrote in 1963. His ideas went far beyond his own time and the society in which he lived.

The exhibition

The exhibition will focus on the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and, in particular, Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of equality and justice for all through non-violence.

Through the life and actions of Martin Luther King Jr. the exhibition aspires to encourage dialogue and creative public participation on crucial issues such as:

• segregation and integration,
• human rights and social injustice,
• diversity and equality,
• religion and ethics,
• resignation and conviction.

The exhibition will also provide an opportunity to take a closer look at fundamental rights, civil rights and the commitment of two exceptional men: Nobel Prize winners René Cassin and Martin Luther King Jr.

A collaborative project coordinated by

• Ashley Woods: Internationally renowned curator, project manager and producer, Mr. Woods works closely with Nobel Prize laureates to promote world peace. In association with Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, Ashley Woods is the curator of this project, which focuses on the right to freedom and the civil rights movement.

An exhibition produced and designed by

• L’Atelier Ailes²: based in Strasbourg, this agency is run by Nathalia Moutinho and Emilie Chassis, museographers and scenographers. L’Atelier-Ailes² specializes in the design and production of cultural projects including :
  • historical monuments,
  • industrial heritage,
  • living heritage,
  • culinary heritage,
  • science,
  • fine arts,
  • social debates,
  • young audiences,
  • disabilities,
  • history and historical conflicts,
  • archaeology,
  • design,
  • know-how transfer.

For further information, please visit their website: www.atelier-aile2.fr

A project supported by

• Bernice A. King, daughter of Martin Luther Jr.
• Coretta Scott King, Director of the King Center in Atlanta