I never tire of hearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic speech, I Have A Dream, and was pleased to see Kadir Nelson included a CD and the full transcript of the speech with his picture book, I Have A Dream. Nelson has delivered to us a sumptious visual rendition of what Dr. King said in 1961. Each illustration that accompanies an excerpt from the speech is a gorgeous interpretation of Dr. King’s words.
 
The intense close up illustration of a Black hand holding a white hand with Dr. King’s words: “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day,” moved me to tears. Throughout the book, the combination of the gorgeous illustrations coupled with the powerful words of Dr. King is very stirring. The illustrations are bold, the words are bold, and together they are powerful.
 
I read the book to my seven-year-old son, and at the end, he said, “We need to be free! What [Dr. King] said doesn’t get old. And the pictures of the kids with kids is awesome.” I agree, this speech never gets old and Nelson’s illustrations are true art from the heart. I look forward to pulling this book down from our bookshelf to read over and over.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer is a striking book for many reasons. Fannie Lou Hamer was a tour de force and her story is an amazing one. The illustrations by Ekua Holmes are colorful, vivid and expressive and beg for a pause before moving to the next page. Yet, what is most striking is the structure of the book, the narrative is told in Hamer’s own words and organized deftly into easy to digest sections by author, Carole Boston Weatherford.
 
I read the book to my son and when I closed the book, he said, “That was a long book but totally awesome! Yay to freedom, and no to beatings. [The book gave] very good reasons about why you should be free.” Yes, the book is long for a seven-year-old reading about Civil Rights, but the content in each section is narrated sparingly. From the opening Sunflower Country, Mississippi and through poetry and narration to the last section entitled No Rest, the author takes us through the timeline of Hamer’s remarkable life.
 
This is an excellent book to add to any child’s bookshelf and as an adult, I, too, came away with a renewed excitement for what one individual can accomplish and admiration for Hamer. Weatherford also includes a timeline in the back to punctuate each of the historic events in this country as well as Hamer’s place in that history. A beautifully rendered book about an iconic American woman.

Apply at www.charitablefilmnetwork.submittable.com/submit. Please spread the word!  #LoveYall #BlendedBooksClub

Help us Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Loving v Virginia Supreme Court decision with a United States Postal Service commemorative stamp! Please send a message to President Obama and the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee in support of the Loving Festival's petition for a US Postal Service stamp to commemorate the 1967 Loving v Virginia Supreme Court decision.
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     President Barack Obama, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500
     [email protected], www.facebook.com/barackobama, https://twitter.com/BarackObama

     Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, DC 20260-3501

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
​The 7th Annual New Orleans Loving Festival is looking for 50 great stamp designs to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Loving v Virginia Supreme Court decision. If selected, your stamp design will be featured in a limited edition Loving Festival Philatelic Collection and Exhibition.  Look Here for guidelines - www.charitablefilmnetwork.submittable.com/submit. Please spread the word!  #‎PutYourStampOnLoving‬ ‪#‎LoveYall‬ :-) ‪#‎LovingFestival‬

Directly across the hall another female artist also explores issues of identity and the pliable craft of portraiture. As opposed to Donna Woodley's paintings, in which clothes definitely do not make the woman, in Leona Strassberg Steiner's photographs the difference between two simple garments is shown to be a potent but unreliable cultural, religious and political marker. Her series Aziza and Ahuva- A Love Story, consists of diptych self-portraits cloaked in disarmingly simple disguise. In each work the artist presents herself twice, in identical surroundings and in nearly identical pose. The main difference between the two personas is that she wears a hijab in one and she sports a smaller more western head scarf in the other. Strassberg Steiner's statement about these works relates that she has spent half her life in Israel and that they raise “...questions about land, borders, and displacement.” I don't think that these photographs are meant to tell us something that we don't know‒excluding extremists on either side don't we accept the basic humanity of Israelis and Palestinians? Strassberg Steiner's message seems more plaintive than novel, more personal than political. If ending the protracted conflict is currently too much to ask for or expect, at least in Strassberg Steiner's mind and in her photos, some manner of reconciliation is achievable.

The seven other artists featured in Mixed Messages 6: Race-Identity-Love, offer diverse responses to the exhibition's broad parameters. Iris Crey focuses on love by creating visual allegories that explore the relationships and influence between well-know 20th century artists; Belinda Shinsillas uses abstract paintings to explore the intersection of her Mexican and New Orleans identities; Gason Ayisyin finds resonance of his childhood in Haiti in documentary photographs of New Orleans; Sean G. Clarke's assemblage, In Case of, compels viewers to think about racism in everyday and in emergency situations; the artist ChE's Altar Piece is a multi-disciplinary interactive installation made in response to the Black Lives Matter movement; José Tores-Tama's drawings honor Latino immigrant workers who struggle to remain in New Orleans, a city they helped to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina; and Bottletree (the nom de guerre of Jerald L. White who is the founder of Charitable Film Network and the New Orleans Loving Festival) contributes images from his New Orleans Tokens & Souvenirs project that documents how Black Americans are depicted in contemporary New Orleans tourism memorabilia, and how these items impact the lives of Black New Orleanians.  Befitting the Loving Fest's inclusive and egalitarian practice, a collaborative work made during a Create Community - Make Art Together event by artists Sallie Knox Hall, Lisa Kaichen, and about 30 New Orleans participants, is also on view.

The New Orleans Loving Festival is not only a welcome annual event. As can be gleaned from its website and its Facebook page, the organization produces, sponsors, and promotes a year-round program of community happenings, artistic performances, exhibitons, discussion groups, and various other educational initiatives. Mixed Messages 6: Race-Identity-Love, like all of The Loving Festival's perseverant endeavors, is an earnest and illuminating step along an admirable path.    STEVEN MAKLANSKY

MIXED MESSAGES.6 is on view through August 13th at the Myrtle Banks Building - 1307 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., NOLA.
Gallery Hours: Weekdays from 10:00am to 5:00pm and Saturdays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. 

Steven Maklansky is an art and arts administration consultant in New Orleans. He previously served as the Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the Brevard Art Museum in Florida, the Director of Curatorial Services for the Louisiana State Museum, and as the Assistant Director for Art and Curator of Photographs at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The 6th Annual New Orleans Loving Festival is seeking original artwork and short films with themes concerning Love, Race, Identity and the Multiracial Experience, for a juried group art exhibition from July 1st to August 6th at the Myrtle Banks Building Gallery. Please follow the guidelines below for consideration:

1. ART Submissions must include your bio or resume, high resolution photo(s) of the artwork, and a description - including the title, size, medium, and the year the artwork was created.Artwork created before 2013 should not be submitted for consideration.
2. SHORT FILM Submissions must include your bio or resume, a film synopsis, and a web link to preview the film (or screener DVD).

You will need to create a Submittable User Account to submit your materials. See instructions at https://charitablefilmnetwork.submittable.com/submit/56316­. 

The DEADLINE for receiving submissions is Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at Midnight - Central Standard Time.

The New Orleans Loving Festival is an initiative of Charitable Film Network. For more information contact [email protected] or visit lovingfestival.org. Please follow the Loving Festival on Facebook and Twitter!