All posts tagged: John Lewis

Photos of 2020 : #13 : John Robert Lewis in Black and White

Photos of 2020 : #13 : John Robert Lewis in Black and White

Happy Holidays to all BSA readers, your family and dear ones. We’re counting down some of our favorite photos to appear on BSA in 2020 taken by our editor of photography, Jaime Rojo. We wish each person the very best as we look forward to a new year together with you.

John Robert Lewis was an American statesman and civil rights leader who served in the United States House of Representatives for more than thirty years. When he died in July many tributes arose from the streets to honor him and his life of service to justice and equality.

David F. Barthold, photo ©Jaime Rojo

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.01.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.01.20

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

How was your blue moon, and your time switch, and your Beyloween? And your 6-3 Supreme Court?

Feeling dizzy? Not much to worry about should be a slow week coming up.

Here is our weekly interview with the streets, this week including Billy Barnacles, Calicho Art, City Kitty, D7606, Fire Flower, GoInco, Lucky, Lunge Box, Phetus, Praxis, Ree Vilomar, Turtle Caps, Wayne, Zuliamiau.

Phetus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zulimiau (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Wayne (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lucky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lucky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
City Kitty, Turtle Caps (photo © Jaime Rojo)
City Kitty, Turtle Caps (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Fire Flower (photo © Jaime Rojo)
D7606 in collaboration with Lunge Box and City Kitty. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Billy Barnacles (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Billy Barnacles (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Golnco (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Calicho Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ree Vilomar (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artists (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artists (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Praxis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artists (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artists (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Eleanor Roosevelt does the right thing in NYC…and the person in the background follows a leader… (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.02.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.02.20

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

Happy EID Mubarek to all our Muslim brothers and sisters. Full moon will wash over our warm summer skies in Brooklyn tomorrow – hopefully you can get up on a roof to see it.

Statues are still coming down like a summer rain storm, New Yorkers are officially out of unemployment benefits and are protected from eviction until Thursday. While they pull together a new rescue plan for hurting citizens the GOP is deviously trying to chop Social Security, which is keeping your grandmother fed and housed. Meanwhile those “Party of the People” Democrats voted against cutting the Pentagon’s budget by 10% last week and this week they removed Medicare for All from the Democratic platform for 2020 – at a time when 30 million? 40 million? people have no healthcare insurance and we have a Covid-19 crises that is projected to kill 200,000 Americans by election day. 20 million (or more) are out of work, millions are poised to lose their homes, and the US saw a 32.9% decrease in gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2020. It’s the largest drop in U.S. history. But the “party of the people” doesn’t want you to have health insurance. Let that sink in.

Please tell us again about that two-party system we hear about every day. Why does it look like one party? Have you heard about this new documentary coming called “The Swamp”?

Maybe its the time in quarantine but the quality of the workspersonship on the streets these days appears to have increased overall – perhaps because artists have much more time to pour into their paste-ups, stencils, paintings.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Amir Diop99, BK Foxx, Black Ligma, Captain Eyeliner, City Kitty, De Grupo, Downtown DaVinci, Epizod Tagg, Panam, Texas, Zuli Miau.

David F Barthold (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Black Channel Films (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx. Detail. East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx. East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
New York (photo © Jaime Rojo)
New York by Epizod Tagg (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David F Barthold (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“I could stand on the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters” – Donald Trump by an unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
De Grupo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Black Ligma (photo © Jaime Rojo)
De Grupo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Amir Diop99 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zuli Miau (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Downtown DaVinci (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Texas (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Panam (photo © Jaime Rojo)
City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. SOHO, NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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John Lewis Leader, Freedom Rider and Path Maker of Civil Rights Era Dies at 80

John Lewis Leader, Freedom Rider and Path Maker of Civil Rights Era Dies at 80

We post images from a mural in Atlanta photographed a number of years ago by Jaime Rojo, as we remember with admiration, gratitude, and respect Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.


“I APPEAL TO ALL OF YOU TO GET INTO THIS GREAT REVOLUTION THAT IS SWEEPING THIS NATION. GET IN AND STAY IN THE STREETS OF EVERY CITY, EVERY VILLAGE AND HAMLET OF THIS NATION UNTIL TRUE FREEDOM COMES, UNTIL THE REVOLUTION OF 1776 IS COMPLETE” – John Lewis, March on Washington, August 28, 1963

John Lewis. February 02, 1940 – July 17, 2020. Atlanta, Georgia. The Loss Prevention. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Lewis. February 02, 1940 – July 17, 2020. Atlanta, Georgia. The Loss Prevention. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Representative John Lewis, top left was arrested in Jackson, Miss., in May 1961 along with fellow Freedom Riders. They were swiftly convicted of disturbing the peace. (photo courtesy of Mississippi Department of Archives and History)
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Martin Luther King Day : “This is no time for apathy or complacency.”

Martin Luther King Day : “This is no time for apathy or complacency.”

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”

― Martin Luther King Jr. , April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York

Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection.

As we remember Dr. Martin Luther king and his legacy, we are reminded that each of us has to consider seriously our individual and collective roles as a part of the equation and to fight for what is right, and good, and just, and fair for every man and woman. May his words above inspire us to keep the fight alive and to seize this moment to disempower oppression and tyranny at their first steps, not their 10th or 20th steps.

Here are some pieces of Street Art that honor the words and deeds of Dr. King.

The Dude Company. Martin Luther King Jr. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Martin Luther King Jr. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blanco. Martin Luther King Jr. in Mongolia. 2012. (photo © Blanco)

Martin Luther King Jr. by Air3. This is a part of a larger mural in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rep. John Lewis was honored on the streets of Atlanta with this large mural by Sean Schwab for The Loss Prevention collective. Painted in the same community where Dr. King was raised, the mural depicts The Honorable Mr. Lewis for his work as a civil rights leader to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation. He was also the youngest speaker at the March On Washington in 1963. Mr. Lewis currently serves in The United States Congress representing Georgia’s 5th District since 1987. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Loss Prevention. John Lewis. March On Washington. August 28, 1963. (photo @ Jaime Rojo)

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MLK “I Have A Dream”: 50 Years Later in the Streets

“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.”

The streets have always been a powerful venue for everyday men and women to advocate their political views and to be visible, to be heard, to champion and to demand. Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and all that it achieved and how we all changed as a result of it, even as we recognize how far yet we have to go for everyone to be treated fairly and the great cost the struggle exacted from many. This march had an impact on the American people like none other and even now the struggle for freedom, equality, and economic justice continues here and around the world as the words of Martin Luther King Jr. remain an inspiration to many.

brooklyn-street-art-jr-jaime-rojo-living-walls-atlanta-2013-web

French Street Artist JR wheat pasted this vintage image in Atlanta to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Living Walls Atlanta 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Rep. John Lewis was honored this month on the streets of Atlanta with this large mural by Sean Schwab for The Loss Prevention collective. Dedicated last Friday in the same community where Dr. King was raised, the mural depicts The Honorable Mr. Lewis for his work as a civil rights leader to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation. He was also the youngest speaker 50 years ago at the March On Washington. Mr. Lewis currently serves in The United States Congress representing Georgia’s 5th District since 1987. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-the-loss-prevention-jaime-rojo-living-walls-atlanta-2013-web-3

The Loss Prevention. John Lewis. March On Washington. August 28, 1963. (photo @ Jaime Rojo)

Martin Luther King “I Have A Dream” Speech

Full Text:

“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.


It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. 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.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

 

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