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UMass Lowell celebrates Civil Rights Movement

UMass Lowell’s Civil Rights Gallery is on display in University Crossing this month. (Photo courtesy of Henry St. Pierre)
Henry St. Pierre
Connector Staff

Throughout February, the second floor of University Crossing will host the Civil Rights Gallery – a collection of photographs, displays and posters to highlight the long struggle for civil rights in the United States.

The gallery was put together by the Office of Multicultural Affairs in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Awareness Week, and the gallery’s purpose is to show the intersection of struggles and progress theme in the Civil Rights Movement.

The second floor of U-Crossing features displays across the floor to demonstrate different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. One such display compares the plight of the Civil Rights Movement to the various steps in Jesus Christ’s condemnation to die and his eventual crucifixion; it is a very powerful scene, especially when images of Civil Rights leaders and faces such as Trayvon Martin’s are part of the display. The Gallery is supposed to be powerful and moving, and this particular scene is certainly an attention-grabber.

Another display for the Gallery is a wall of photographs with the powerful title of “Unsung Heroes” hanging overhead. These photographs highlight various important figures in the Civil Rights Movement and provide a brief biography of each hero and/or heroine. The purpose of the wall is to show not only how many people worked so hard to progress the Civil Rights Movement in America; it also emphasizes how many steps and struggles were needed to get to where we are now and to show how important dedication and perseverance are in making real change happen.

Another display for the gallery is a series of posters named “Lenses of Civil Rights.” The four posters come together to create an in-depth timeline of the history of the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States. Reading through the timeline shows just how many injustices and horrendous things occurred in this country, but also how brave and courageous people have been fighting for equal rights for all.

A last display in the Civil Rights Gallery is a Photo Mosaic. This mosaic shows different photographs of very diverse people all connected together by string. Every photo, and every human being, in the mosaic has their own life and their own story, but the mosaic shows that something connects us all, despite how different we may seem to one another.

The Civil Rights Gallery will be on display through Feb. 29 and is located on the second floor of UCrossing.

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