The 'Road' to Civil Rights

By Lavanya Ramanathan
Saturday, November 15, 2008

In his victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama noted "the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta" -- the pivotal images of the civil rights movement that cannot help but be seen as milestones on the road to his own triumph.

Those are the exact images you'll find captured in a new show of civil rights photographs presented by the nascent National Museum of African American History and Culture -- a show that comes at an especially good time. "Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968" features nearly 200 photos, drawn mostly from the collection of Atlanta's High Museum of Art, with images of the March on Washington in 1963, the Little Rock Nine and many of the movement's leaders, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But look closely and you'll find some major surprises that make this show worth a visit: photos of the burned-out station wagon belonging to slain rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner that was dredged from a Mississippi swamp empty but said a lot about what happened to the young men; Rosa Parks being fingerprinted (if you read the details, you learn it wasn't her first arrest, but her second); the first desegregated bus ride in Montgomery, snapped by a photographer with the wits to rise early enough to catch the first bus out (there in front are King and fellow boycott leader Ralph Abernathy).

The most stunning might be Steve Schapiro's iconic photograph of the Tennessee motel room King was staying in when he was assassinated in 1968. Schapiro was among the first to be allowed into the room. What he shot was a simple elegy to a man who was both an icon and a human being: There is King's open briefcase, King's copy of Soul Force newspaper, King's rumpled shirt and copious plastic foam coffee cups. And in the background, a television news program, clearly delivering news of the civil rights leader's death.

This show stops at 1968, but a companion exhibition of contemporary paintings, sculpture and video works referencing the civil rights era continues the theme. The shows, which began this month, are open through March 9. Free. 10 a.m.-5:30 a.m. daily (closed Christmas day). The Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center, lower-level International Gallery, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW. 202-633-1000 or visit http://www.si.edu/exhibitions.

-- Lavanya Ramanathan

The District

Today

EXHIBIT Election Season Ends, and So Does This Politically Themed Show "Herblock's Presidents: Puncturing Pomposity" at the National Portrait Gallery opened in May; now, with the elections over, this selection of editorial cartoons by the winner of multiple Pulitzer Prizes is set to close in a couple of weeks. The show features nearly 50 cartoons by the late Herbert Block, who worked for this very newspaper for more than half a century. Free. 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 30. Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-1000.

Monday

FILM "Goya" Kicking off a seven-film Artists in Film series of movies from East and West Germany (before reunification, of course) and Switzerland, the Goethe-Institut in Chinatown screens Konrad Wolf's 1971 picture about Spanish artist Francisco de Goya and his brushes with the Inquisition. In German with English subtitles. $6; members, $4. Monday at 6:30 p.m. 812 Seventh St. NW. 202-289-1200.

Tuesday

LITERATURE Christopher Plummer The Canadian actor -- who has played everything from Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" to John Barrymore in the one-man Tony-winning show "Barrymore" -- has published a memoir and will stop at Politics and Prose next week to read and talk about his life and career. Maybe he'll pick the bit about slapping Michelle Pfeiffer during filming of the 1994 Jack Nicholson movie "Wolf." Free. 7 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-1919.

Wednesday

FILM "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" This 1998 Johnny Depp flick (which, admittedly, wasn't the best movie ever made) screens tonight as part of Landmark's E Street Cinema's midnight movie series. But it also happens to be on the schedule at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of its "American Classics: Page to Screen" series. The difference: The Wednesday museum screening of the movie, about Hunter S. Thompson's supposedly drug-fueled reportage on the "American dream," is free. 6 p.m. McEvoy Auditorium, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-1000.

Maryland

Today

FOR FAMILIES The American Visionary Art Museum Explores Music and the Brain All day, till 9 p.m., the quirky Baltimore museum brings in experts such as a pro beatboxer and a Johns Hopkins professor for all sorts of music-minded events. This afternoon, make instruments out of junk or vegetables (the museum promises pumpkin bongos); take part in a beatbox laboratory; or make your own mix CD. The event is tied to the museum's show "The Marriage of Art, Science and Philosophy." Free, but to visit the exhibition, you must pay the admission of $8 to $12 (younger than 6, free). 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy., Baltimore. 410-244-1900 or visit http://www.avam.org and click on "events of the visionary kind."

THE GREAT OUTDOORS The Annual Waterfowl Festival It's a craft festival your family sports fanatic might actually enjoy: The 38th annual event features wildlife-themed paintings and sculpture, wine tastings and the world championship duck- and goose-calling contests, stunt dogs and, yes, sporting gear demonstrations. The catch: It's a hike from the Washington area: The festival continues today and tomorrow in Easton. $12 today and $10 tomorrow; younger than 12, free. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. tomorrow. Harrison and Dover streets, Easton. 410-822-4567 or http://www.waterfowlfestival.org.

Northern Virginia

Today

FOR FAMILIES Turkey Talk The Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling gets into the spirit of Thanksgiving with a morning of kid-centric activities and stories about turkey and Thanksgiving. Free with museum admission: $5; children, $3. 10 a.m.-noon. Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling. 571-258-3800.

THE SCENE Colors, Wine, History: A Brilliant Way to Spend an Afternoon A trip to a Middleburg winery last weekend allowed us to catch what are probably the last of the bright hues in the Piedmont this season. It was a bonus that we did it while sipping a glass of wine. If you haven't been out to the countryside for wine tastings, get there soon. Today at Gray Ghost Vineyards and Winery, it's Civil War Authors Day, so in addition to attending tastings and touring the quaint grounds, you can hear authors discuss such subjects as "Why Lincoln Believed Secession Was Legal" and the stories of civilians living in occupied Fairfax County during the Civil War. Free. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 14706 Lee Hwy., Amissville (it's about 60 miles from Washington). 540-937-4869. For more about local wineries open this weekend, visit http://www.virginiawine.org/regions/northern-virginia.

Save the Date

FOR FAMILIES The Museum of American History (Finally) Reopens The museum closed two years ago for an $85 million renovation that includes a snazzy new home for the Star-Spangled Banner and an airy atrium with a skylight to display hundreds of items from the very popular museum's collections. (Don't worry, changes or not, Dorothy's slippers are coming back.) And next week, it will reopen in time for Thanksgiving visitors. Scheduled for the opening are a slew of events beginning Friday: live performances of American music, including jazz, blues and civil rights-era songs; tours; actors portraying everyone from George Washington to Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz"; and a variety of hands-on activities. Free. The ribbon cutting is set for 8:30 a.m. Friday; the reopening festival is 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Nov. 22-23. 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202-633-1000.

HOLIDAYS Ford's Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" Returns May the holiday season begin: Ford's Theatre's annual production (back for a fifth season) of the Charles Dickens classic starts Dec. 2. The emphasis here is on the ghosts: past, present, future and even of Dickens himself. Ford's is under renovation till early next year, so you won't be able to see the show at the historic theater; for the second year, it will be at the nearby Lansburgh. $33-$65. Dec. 2-28. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW. 202-547-1122 or visit http://www.fordstheatre.org.