I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America

Category : MulvaneExhibits

Location: Main Level Galleries

May - July, 2024

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Brian Lanker spent over two years interviewing and photographing remarkable Black women who profoundly influenced 20th-century American culture. He completed a series of 75 portraits which were assembled in a book published in 1989 and an exhibition, both titled I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America. The photographs picture women including Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, Althea Gibson, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Coretta Scott King, Oprah Winfrey, and Septima Poinsette Clark.

The Mulvane Art Museum presented I Dream a World in February 2020, but public access to the exhibition was largely obstructed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This important collection of portraits is being restaged now in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Mulvane Art Museum. The exhibition’s themes of activism, moral conviction, and perseverance feel more relevant than ever, particularly as we commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. I Dream a World invites you to honor the Black women who have paved the way for social equality, both before and after Brown v. Board.

The Mulvane Art Museum acquired this collection of portraits in 2020 with the support of FHL Bank, Cynthia Heath, Ross Jory, Bette Morris, John & Barbara Stauffer, Marydorsey Wanless, and The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Image above: Brian Lanker, Queen Mother Audley Moore (detail), 1987-88, gelatin silver print. Permanent collection of the Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University.

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Gwendolyn Brooks
Born June 7, 1917, in Topeka, KS
Died December 3, 2000, in Chicago, IL

Gwendolyn Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for her book Annie Allen. She was the first Black writer to win the prestigious award. Considered “the Bard of Bronzeville,” she was also poet laureate of Illinois for 16 years and poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. Among her best-known works are her poetry collections A Street in Bronzeville (1945) and In the Mecca (1968), and her novel Maud Martha (1953). Her autobiography, Report from Part One, was published in 1972. Brooks is widely regarded as one of the most influential poets of the twentieth century.

Brian Lanker, Gwendolyn Brooks, 1987-88, silver gelatin print. Permanent collection of the Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University.

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Coretta Scott King
Born April 27, 1927, in Marion, AL
Died January 20, 2006, in Rosarito, Mexico

Coretta Scott King worked side by side with her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., as a civil rights activist. After his assassination in 1968, she continued in her roles as a human rights leader, administrator, mother, author, lecturer, and newspaper columnist. She was the president and chief executive officer of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the official living memorial dedicated to Dr. King. In 1984, she was elected chairperson of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday Commission. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

Brian Lanker, Coretta Scott King, 1987-88, silver gelatin print. Permanent collection of the Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University.

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Cicely Tyson
Born December 19, 1933, in New York, NY
Died January 28, 2021, in New York, NY

Cicely Tyson portrayed many heroic women on stage, screen, and television, and her courageous choice of roles had an impact far beyond her individual career. She won two Emmy awards in 1974 for her portrayal of Jane in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1973 for her role in the film Sounder. She won a Tony Award in 2014 for her performance in the play The Trip to Bountiful. Tyson was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor in 2015, and the next year she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Brian Lanker, Cicely Tyson, 1987-88, silver gelatin print. Permanent collection of the Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University.

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