In 1961 Smith was among the Freedom Riders who protested the segregation of interstate buses. In McComb, Mississippi, he suffered a savage beating at the hands of police. Two years later, Smith was among a delegation of African Americans, convened by author James Baldwin, to meet with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in New York. His passionate voice of experience, helped Kennedy to understand the plight of demonstrators, leading to his support of the Voting Rights Act. In Jerome Smith, Clarksdale, Mississippi, the subject is dressed in overalls typicallyworn by sharecroppers, and shot in profile during a private moment during the “Freedom Summer” activities of 1965. His seated posture and contemplative attitude echo that of Christ in the church’s stained glass window.

from Calendar of Events, September-December 2017