‘Countdown to Eternity’: Pictures exhibit in Sharon captures civil rights historical past | Native Information

TANNER MONDOK | HeraldTom Roberts, HopeCAT Executive Director, shows Countdown to Eternity, a photo exhibition by Benedict J. Fernandez on display at Sharon School. It shows photos of Martin Luther King Jr. in the last year of his life.

SHARON – Photos in the “Countdown to Eternity” exhibition show the civil rights movement from every angle – of black and white people who were featured in the campaign for equality in the 1960s with pictures by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spending time marched together with his family.

The photo collection of the artist Benedict J. Fernandez shows the last year of the king’s life and culminates in the murder and burial of the civil rights leader. The Hope Center for Art and Technology in Sharon is showing a copy of Fernandez’s collection.

Tom Roberts, HopeCAT Executive Director, said the exhibition also helps people get a behind-the-scenes look at King’s life and work.

“You see powerful images that the public would see of Dr. King, side by side with very intimate images of him with his family,” said Roberts. “It is a unique opportunity to give people and children an insight into what it means to serve your community.”

TANNER MONDOK | HopeCAT Executive Director Herald Tom Roberts is showing Countdown to Eternity, a Benedict J. Fernandez photo exhibition held at HopeCAT that features photos of Martin Luther King Jr. in the last year of his life.

The exhibition is tied to the story of Manchester-Bidwell Corp., HopeCAT’s parent organization, Roberts said.

Manchester-Bidwell Corp. founder and chairman of the board, Bill Strickland, attended King’s 1963 I Have a Dream speech in Washington, DC. The original exhibition “Countdown to Eternity” can be seen in Manchester-Bidwell, Pittsburgh.

Manchester-Bidwell officials will transfer a copy of the exhibit when the school builds a new educational center like HopeCAT, which opened its school on Sharon’s West Hill in 2017. If another new center opens, the exhibition will be broadcast – although Roberts said HopeCAT officials hope to continue receiving grants to allow the school to buy its own copy of Countdown to Eternity.

TANNER MONDOK | HeraldCountdown to Eternity, a photo exhibition by Benedict J. Fernandez, is on view at the Hope Center for Arts and Technology in Sharon. It shows photos of Martin Luther King Jr. in the last year of his life.

People who wish to see the exhibition can do so by appointment, and Roberts said that students involved in HopeCAT’s youth programs or attendees at events are encouraged to view it as well.

Last year HopeCAT celebrated the weekend on Sunday of Martin Luther King Day with a prayer service and celebration of the life of the king in collaboration with the Shenango Valley Ministry. After the service was over, visitors had the opportunity to view the exhibition before they left.

TANNER MONDOK | HeraldCountdown to Eternity, a photo exhibition by Benedict J. Fernandez, is on display at HopeCAT and features photos of Martin Luther King Jr. in the last year of his life.

“For people who have been through it, I can only imagine the kind of emotions it evokes, and with recent events it is dragging echoes back to the ’60s,” said Roberts.

To make an appointment, contact the HopeCAT staff either by email at [email protected] or by phone at 724-308-5135 ext. 710. Visitors must follow required COVID-19 guidelines, Roberts said.

Like David L. Dye on Facebook or by email at [email protected].