Four Little Girls and Martin Luther King Jr.
Item
Title
Four Little Girls and Martin Luther King Jr.
Description
Assemblage; five metal chairs sit in a row across a wooden beam. Around them on the ground are arranged circled crosses. The chairs are painted with the names of the four girls who were killed in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, and the name of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From the left, the chairs are labelled "CAROLE / IN JESUS / FREE AT LAST"; "CYNTHIA / IN JESUS / FREE AT LAST"; "MARTIN JESUS"; "ADDIE MAE / IN JESUS / FREE AT LAST"; "DENISE / IN JESUS / FREE AT LAST."
The chair labelled for Rev. Dr. King is centered in the row. It is white, with padded arms and a rusted seat. Around the frame in black lettering reads excerpts from the "I Have a Dream" speech. There is a black cast of a pair of praying hands on the seat of the chair. The other four chairs are rusted metal folding chairs with no arms. The chairs labelled for Carole, Cynthia, and Addie Mae have bright yellow lettering. The chair labelled for Denise is painted bright yellow and has black lettering. On each of the chairs is a face formed out of wire. The faces for the four girls are smaller, and rest on the seats of their chairs. The face for Rev. Dr. King stands over the seat, resting against the back of the chair labelled for him.
On the wooden beam are four silver metal signs with black lettering, each corresponding with the appropriate chair. From the left: "Carole Robtson [sic] / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Cynthia Wesley / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Addie M. Collins / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Denise McNair / Birmingham AL / 1951 - 1963". The beam is supported from beneath with four wooden posts and two pillars of cinder blocks. On the right side of the beam a metal pole extends up, and is topped by a hard hat.
Behind the center of the supporting beam is a wooden post with a sign reading "FATHER FORGIVE" in bright yellow paint. A rusted chain links the top of the post with the chair labelled for Rev. Dr. King.
Behind the beam and chairs are three circles of grey concrete paving stones. Within each is a wood mulch ground covering, a cross of narrow, red concrete paving stones, and a circular grey paving stone on one of the arms of the cross. On the left circle there is a conch shell. In front of the beam is a singular cross and circle arrangement, also with a conch shell on the grey stones encircling the cross.
In commenting on this piece, Minter emphasizes "the least of those among us will bring us where we need to go because they are the closest to God."
The chair labelled for Rev. Dr. King is centered in the row. It is white, with padded arms and a rusted seat. Around the frame in black lettering reads excerpts from the "I Have a Dream" speech. There is a black cast of a pair of praying hands on the seat of the chair. The other four chairs are rusted metal folding chairs with no arms. The chairs labelled for Carole, Cynthia, and Addie Mae have bright yellow lettering. The chair labelled for Denise is painted bright yellow and has black lettering. On each of the chairs is a face formed out of wire. The faces for the four girls are smaller, and rest on the seats of their chairs. The face for Rev. Dr. King stands over the seat, resting against the back of the chair labelled for him.
On the wooden beam are four silver metal signs with black lettering, each corresponding with the appropriate chair. From the left: "Carole Robtson [sic] / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Cynthia Wesley / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Addie M. Collins / Birmingham AL / 1949 - 1963"; "Denise McNair / Birmingham AL / 1951 - 1963". The beam is supported from beneath with four wooden posts and two pillars of cinder blocks. On the right side of the beam a metal pole extends up, and is topped by a hard hat.
Behind the center of the supporting beam is a wooden post with a sign reading "FATHER FORGIVE" in bright yellow paint. A rusted chain links the top of the post with the chair labelled for Rev. Dr. King.
Behind the beam and chairs are three circles of grey concrete paving stones. Within each is a wood mulch ground covering, a cross of narrow, red concrete paving stones, and a circular grey paving stone on one of the arms of the cross. On the left circle there is a conch shell. In front of the beam is a singular cross and circle arrangement, also with a conch shell on the grey stones encircling the cross.
In commenting on this piece, Minter emphasizes "the least of those among us will bring us where we need to go because they are the closest to God."
Subject
Assemblages (sculpture) See all items with this value
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, Ala., 1963 See all items with this value
Civil Rights movements See all items with this value
Creator
Minter, Joe
Language
English
Type
Assemblages (sculpture) See all items with this value
Format
found objects
chairs
wire
paving stones
wood
conch shells
metal chain
and paint.