By Ellen C. Caldwell
In 1961, the “Freedom Fighters” banned together in Jackson, Mississippi to demonstrate against state segregation laws — and for doing so, 328 people were arrested with the charge “breach of peace.” Photographer Eric Etheridge pairs current portraits of these Freedom Fighters alongside their 1960’s mug shots in an exhibit that is not to be missed.
Entering the show, visitors face a large room filled with about 40 portraits next to corresponding mug shots and textual information about the featured Freedom Fighters: when they marched, why they got involved, and what they are doing now. The current portraits of a now-more elderly crowd are about 4 times the size of the original mugshots they hang alongside. Etheridge captures a friendliness and warmth in his subjects, so that as visitors circle the room, they are drawn in to their faces and stories…