Artist Statement
From July 7 through June 1, 2019, Art on the Atlanta BeltLine will host the photography exhibition “Atlanta and the Civil Rights Movement, 1944-1968,” curated by historian and author Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Ph.D.
The photography is sourced from Dr. Sims-Alvarado’s book Images of America: Atlanta and the Civil Rights Movement, 1944-1968 (Arcadia Publishing, 2017). From testing the landmark US Supreme Court decision in Smith v. Allwright to mourning the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the exhibition illustrates how Atlanta came to be recognized as the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement.
Check out photos from the grand opening of the exhibition here.
Artist Bio
Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado is the CEO of Preserve Black Atlanta, a non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to identifying, recording, and preserving African-American history and culture. Dr. Sims-Alvarado has developed a model for utilizing historical and cultural assets as a catalyst for economic and community development and has worked with some of Atlanta’s leading institutions: the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta History Center, Herndon Home Museum, and Central Atlanta Progress.