A Monumental Journey Lesson Plan

Artist Kerry James Marshall has created a striking physical monument representing 12 brave Des Moines-area African American attorneys who formed the National Bar Association in 1925. At that time, Black Americans were denied membership to national legal associations like the American Bar Association, and these 12 attorneys wanted to form an association of support, power, and acceptance.

The sculptural shape of A Monumental Journey was inspired by West African talking drums. African drummers utilize complex drumming patterns by varying pitch and tone to mimic speech patterns. These messages can then be heard and communicated over long distances. This ambitious large-scale piece evokes ideas of working towards balance in an unbalanced system, while maintaining communication across cultures.

Past retrospectives of Kerry James Marshall have been on view at the Met Breuer, MOCA Los Angeles, and MOCA Chicago. His installations, public projects, and paintings have travelled globally, with stops at the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen in Belgium (2013) and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid (2014).