Since the publication of I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America more than 30 years ago, African American women have gained greater visibility on the national stage and in the global arena. Yet the book’s 75 photographs and interviews have never seemed more relevant. Illuminating the historical and cultural contributions of several remarkable individuals, this two-part exhibition features portraits of writers, entertainers, athletes, activists, and politicians whose legacies were documented by photojournalist Brian Lanker in the late 1980s. “I felt the need to prevent these historical lives from being forgotten,” he wrote. “Many of the women opened ‘the doors’ and many advanced America through the modern civil rights and women’s movement.” — National Portrait Gallery
