"Say That I Was a Drum Major"

Celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. today.

Peter Gee's juxtaposition of positive and negative photographic images of Martin Luther King Jr. suggests a visual commentary on public perception of the slain civil rights leader during his lifetime. Jailed repeatedly for leading nonviolent protests against racist policies and practices during the 1960s, here King appears to be looking beyond the prison bars in a moment of quiet personal reflection.

The poster includes a quotation from King:

"Say that I was a drum major.
Say that I was a drum major for justice.
Say that I was a drum major for peace.
Say that I was a drum major for righteousness."

See details of the image in our online exhibition Posters American Style. In that show you can hear King deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech and read about its impact.

Source: Posters: American Style (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, 1999) at http://americanart.si.edu/collections/exhibits/posters/index.html.

Pictured: Peter Gee, born 1932, Martin Luther King Jr., 1968, photo silkscreen on foil paper, 30 x 19 in., Collection of Mary Haskell.