Eric’s posthaven

Yesterday the good folks at the Mississippi Museum of Art installed the first five rows of the Freedom Rider mural. Three rows to go, and then the mug shots of all 329 Riders arrested in Jackson in 1961 will be up. They're arranged chronologically, by date of arrest. Below the mural will hang 16 of my Rider portraits.

The wall is 54' long and 18' tall, and the focal point of the museum's great hall, which has some fancy donor name. I think of it as the Dunlap Wall, since it is normally the home of a great Bill Dunlap mural. 

In a sense, the mug shots have now come full circle. The museum sits virtually on the site of the Trailways station, where many of the Riders were arrested.    

The conference table in the foreground is in place for a meeting Saturday of the local group organizing Return of the Freedom Riders, the 50th Anniversary celebration in Jackson May 22 -26.

 

http://ms50thfreedomridersreunion.org/ 

 

http://www.msmuseumart.org/exhibition-upcoming.html