February 4 – March 15, 2020
Kauffman Museum, North Newton, KS
This poster exhibit honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daring vision for economic justice and opportunity for every U.S. citizen. The Poor People’s Campaign—a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C. For 43 days between May and June 1968, demonstrators demanded social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City.
During the 1960s, the United States emerges as a superpower on the world stage. But at home, poverty prevents access to opportunities to people of every race, age, and region of the country. Although President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a “War on Poverty” in 1965, tens of millions of Americans are denied livable wages, adequate housing, nutritious food, quality education, and healthcare.
Led by Drs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) declares poverty a national human rights issue. The organization plans the Poor People’s Campaign – a grassroots, multiracial movement that draws thousands of people to Washington, D.C.
For 43 days between May and June 1968, demonstrators demand social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City. Dr. Abernathy declares it a “City of Hope” that resurrects Dr. King’s hope for justice and faith in the American dream.
In Collaboration With
City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In the News
Bethel College | Museum explores 1968 Poor People’s Campaign with Smithsonian exhibit The poster exhibition is an opportunity for Kauffman Museum to continue sharing stories of social justice, environmental research and civic engagement.
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27th and North Main St.
North Newton, KS 67117
Across from the main campus of
Bethel College
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(316) 283-1612
kauffman@bethelks.edu
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300 E. 27th Street
North Newton, KS, 67117-1716
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