Wheeling. A new exhibit, “The 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act,” is on display now through October 29 at the Ohio County Public Library. It has traveled across West Virginia since the actual anniversary of the 1964 act on July 2nd.
The exhibit is comprised of six 6-ft panels, some interactive, which provide context, history and significance today of this turning point in the history of the United States. Viewers are first acquainted with the difference between human rights and civil rights with a West Virginian featured.
Other panels introduce the Freedom Movement, why we needed it, and some of the significant players, again including a West Virginian; the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that led to the Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act and what we have gained and lost in civil rights since that time; the Black Arts Movement and ceiling breakers in the arts and sports who defied stereotypes (a West Virginian is included here as well); and the actual content of the Civil Right Act compared to the WV civil rights law of 1961 and the increased rights given through ordinances in some West Virginia cities, including Wheeling.
A final panel invites us to Vote our Values, particularly the millennials and Gen Z, who will inherit the future with hopefully more, not less protected rights.
Included with the national story of the exhibit is a 128-page graphic novel, West Virginians’ Civil Rights Experiences: How We Have Always Been Connected, which shows 22 storytellers from 14 counties, ages 20 to 100 who prove we have been involved in these pivotal moments. Former Wheeling city councilor Rosemary Ketchum is one of the storytellers.
The exhibit is produced by the Community Coalition for Social Justice WV, and the designer and compiler/Illustrator Eve Faulkes will be giving a lecture and discussion on the project at 6:30 October 29 in the Library’s auditorium. Eve is professor emerita and the former coordinator of graphic design at West Virginia University.
The program is free and open to the public. Call 3034-232-0244 for more information.
