Fifteen years ago this weekend, the anticipated exhibition In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. opened at the Weisman Art Museum with a full schedule of events. The purpose of the exhibition is clearly stated in the invitational brochure:  "By juxtaposing accounts in Dr. King’s life with visual renderings of those events, In the Spirit of Martin speaks to the power of art to shape collective national memory." 

Although the exhibition was assembled by an outside curator, the local planning committee was comprised of over 38 individuals. Events associated with the exhibition included a preview party, choral performance, a community tribute to john powell, founder of the Institute on Race and Poverty, a talk with MLK's friend and Pulitzer prize-winning author Roger Wilkins, Special MLK Day programs, Minneapolis Urban League's documentary screening and a lecture by renowned artist Faith Ringold titled Art, Activism, and African-American Experience.

It wasn't only visual artists that responded to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the archives in an oversize box, there is a black spiral bound sketchbook that was used as comment book for this exhibition. Visitors--especially children--were so inspired by the exhibition that many took the time to share their own inspired thoughts and creations.
Here are just a few:

To quote Mary from Central Senior High, "This I learned and will hold in my mind to help me see, when other's are blinded".