Mitchell Chamberlain

Almost fifty-seven years ago, only a few months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, under the leadership of Rev. Ralph Abernathy, led the Poor People’s March on Washington, D.C. demanding economic and human rights for poor Americans.

Charles Edward Dudley, Sr., documented in photographs some of the scenes and individuals associated with this important historical event in civil rights history. His photographs capture the faces of both the famous and the unknown foot-soldiers who participated in this event. The fifteen photographs highlight the role that ministers, doctors and nurses of the Seventh Day Adventists played in this event. They also remind us that many of the issues of that time remain unresolved today.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Charles & Etta Dudley Foundation, was on display in the Avon Williams Library from January through March of 2025.