A year of arts, activism and education commemorating the 50th anniversary of the events of 1968
1968 was a momentous year in D.C. and our nation. Many know that it was the year that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were tragically assassinated, but it is also a year of great milestones. The Poor People's Campaign brought activists from all over the nation to D.C and ground was broken on our own Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. 1968 was a year of unprecedented civic participation, activism, and expression.
For the 50th anniversary of 1968, DC Public Library highlighted its role as the “people’s university” for the District of Columbia, not only a vehicle for studying Dr. King’s ideals but as an equitable community institution serving as an agent of social change. Throughout 2018, the Library hosted a variety of programs and events to mark the experiences that shaped 1968 for D.C. and for the nation.
Why the People's University?
In May 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign, which Dr. King had been organizing prior to his assassination, occupied the National Mall with a protest encampment known as Resurrection City. The political protest that became Resurrection City included direct political action to Congress and other Federal institutions in the nation's capital. It also aimed to provide resources to residents of the United States living in poverty that came to Resurrection City: access to three meals a day, a roof over their heads, clothing, dental and medical services, haircuts, musical entertainment, religious services and The Poor People's University, an opportunity for education.
The Poor People's University included a lecture series based at auditoriums and classroom spaces at D.C.'s educational institutions that were free and open to the public during the protest. Subject areas of these lectures were often around social justice mobilization, participating in the political process, and economic structures that create systemic poverty and racism.
In this spirit, the DC Public Library is committed to ensuring access to education, information and entertainment resources remain available for all.
