I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America is more than a group of 75 images. During the 1970s and 80s, Brian Lanker, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographic journalist, researched, interviewed and photographed black women who have had a profound impact on society in the United States. He compiled his work into a publishable format that came to fruition with the book and an exhibition of the photographs that toured the world. Washburn's Mulvane Art Museum acquired the works this fall.
Lanker, a 1973 Pulitzer Prize winner when he was a photographer with the Topeka Capital-Journal, published the book in 1989. It presents an African American female view of the world in their words, accompanied by the critically-acclaimed portraits and a forward written by Maya Angelou. I Dream A World is out of print, but his family, who now resides in Oregon, kept the original portraits. Lanker, who passed away in 2011, started his career in photojournalism at the Topeka Capital-Journal, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. He was twice named Newspaper Photographer of the Year and his work for LIFE and Sports Illustrated received numerous international awards.
The acquisition would not have been possible without the help of donors. Cynthia Heath, ba ’71; Topeka Capital-Journal; FHLBank; Bette Morris; Ross Jory; Barbara, bba ’85, and John, H ’18, Stauffer; and Marydorsey Wanless all contributed to the project at a leadership level.
The Need
Funding will help support the exhibition, preservation and educational purposes for the Mulvane Art Museum to share this exhibit with the community. The first planned exhibition of the photographs at the Mulvane will be February 14, 2020.
