Photographs in order of slideshow: I Am A Man, I Am A Man Lineup, I Am A Man st Clayborn Temple, Ernest Withers, 1968
Courtesy The Withers Collection
The I AM MARKS logo design is taken from the I AM A MAN logo, used by the striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. It has since become an iconic civil rights image. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to the striking workers in Memphis the day before his assassination. The connection of this iconic image to Marks, Mississippi is through Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Poor People's campaign in 1968, giving the I AM MARKS logo a historical touchstone.
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Photo credit: cropped photo of striking sanitation worker, Ernest Withers, 1968
Courtesy The Withers Collection
DeJaun Watts, Marks, MS
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PAST
When Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Marks in the summer of 1966, he was so moved by the poverty and despair he found, he vowed to the SCLC leadership to make this their next campaign.
PRESENT
In many ways, Marks continues to struggle with its legacy of poverty and unfulfilled expectations. The Marks Project is working to identify key areas of improvement and to raise funds to address
those needs.
FUTURE
The children of Marks are the future, and we need to be part of their future. Working together as a project and a community, we strive to give them a vision of a better life.