Published: February 2004
On view at the McMullen Museum of Art from September to December, 2003, Reflections in Black offered photography from the Smithsonian collection documenting civil rights activism and African-American life in the second half of the 20th century. It also offered Boston-area teachers a chance to introduce their students to powerful representations of American history.
The McMullen Museum provided study guides and questions to teachers. For example, grade school children viewing the iconic and Pulitzer-prize winning portrait of Coretta Scott King at her husband’s funeral were asked: Why do you think this particular photograph is bigger than the other portraits? And high-schoolers were prompted to consider the meaning of a photograph of an African-American girl clutching a Barbie doll.
Images from these school visits are presented in the slide show at right.
