VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Rothko Chapel presents Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , featuring The Rev. Jim Forbes and music by New Orleans jazz ensemble. Re-dedication ceremony of the Broken Obelisk to Dr. Martin Luther King, Saturday, January 15 at 11am.

The Chapel’s 40th Anniversary kick-off event will honor Dr. Martin Luther King and re-dedicate Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk (pictured) to the slain human rights leader. Chapel co-founder Dominique De Menil wrote that the juxtaposition of the Broken Obelisk, which is dedicated to Dr. King, and the Chapel is symbolic of the institution’s dual vocation of contemplation and action. Dr. King’s life clearly demonstrates the power of a contemplative approach to social justice.

The event will include remarks by Rev. Forbes and music by a New Orleans jazz ensemble. The event will include a commemoration ceremony in front of the Broken Obelisk and highlight the re-installation of a plaque that indicated the sculpture’s dedication to Dr. King.

Rev. Forbes is a well-known and respected leader in social justice circles. He is the Senior Minister Emeritus of Riverside Church in New York. He was acting senior minister from 1989 until 2007. He came to Riverside following many years at Union Theological Seminary. Additionally, from 1992 to the present, Dr. Forbes has been co-chair of A Partnership of Faith, an interfaith organization of clergy among New York’s Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim communities. He is on the board of Manhattanville College, the Interfaith Alliance, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, and the United Way. He is a consultant to the
Congress of National Black Churches and past President of The Martin Luther King Fellows.

The jazz ensemble will perform in the Chapel and then process onto the plaza in a “second line” performance common in New Orleans’ funeral processions. The music begins in a mournful tone to recognize the grief that people feel but then transitions to the “second line” which is more celebratory of the life being acknowledged.