Path To "Visible Glory"

The Million Man March In The Redmond Collection


A digital exhibit of photographs, audio files, manuscripts, and ephemera relating to the 1995 Million Man March, from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Lovejoy Library.

It was a Million Years in the Making, that whopper-of-a-Set: Million Man March. A "Monster Mash" that helped me -- I gleaned during a Post-March Epiphany -- re-"situate" myself among my Brothers, my people & my Pasts. (Redmond, 'Sea of Peace' 12)

African American men from across the United States marched to Washington on October 16, 1995, as a demonstration of unity. In the quotation above, Eugene Redmond (poet, scholar, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor) describes the Million Man March and its effect on him.

Redmond went to the March with the intention of gathering documentation and turning the results into a book. He and his co-authors Sherman Fowler and Marcus Atkins "went forth, cuddling tape recorders, note pads & cameras ... weaving interviews, observations & images into a songified fabric called Visible Glory" (Redmond, Preface 9).

This digital exhibition of materials from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection tells two intertwined stories. The images and narrative portray the journey to the March, the March itself, and its aftermath. They also reveal the progress of Redmond, Fowler, and Atkins as they created the book Visible Glory: The Million Man March.

Enter the Exhibition

References:

Redmond, Eugene B. "Preface: Million/ing to Glory.'" Drumvoices Revue. 7 (1997-1998): Visible Glory: The Million Man March. 9-10. Online access is unrestricted.

Redmond, Eugene B. "Visible Glory in a 'Sea of Peace.'" Drumvoices Revue. 7 (1997-1998): Visible Glory: The Million Man March. 12-15. Online access is unrestricted.

Path to "Visible Glory": The Million Man March In The Redmond Collection

© Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Library and Information Services | Lovejoy Library | Campus Box 1063 | 30 Hairpin Drive | Edwardsville, IL 62026 | (618) 650-4636

The digital exhibition was conceived by The Lovejoy Library EBR Working Group. It was written by Mary Rose. The sound recordings, photographs, and ephemera were digitized by Ginger Stricklin. The sound editor was Ginger Stricklin. The digital exhibit was designed by Mary Rose.

A note about the photographs:
The photographs in this digital exhibition and corresponding digital collection were taken by Eugene Redmond, Sherman Fowler, and Marcus Atkins for their book Visible Glory: The Million Man March. The book was published jointly by the English Department of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club of East St. Louis. The photographs were donated to Lovejoy Library as part of the Eugene B. Redmond Collection. The photographs are not marked to identify the specific photographer. If you have additional information about any of the photographs, including identifications of the people pictured, please contact us.

A note about the audio files:
The audio recordings in this digital exhibition were made by Eugene Redmond, Sherman Fowler, and Marcus Atkins for their book Visible Glory: The Million Man March. The book was published jointly by the English Department of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club of East St. Louis. Transcripts of most of the audio recording excerpts included in this digital exhibition were previously published in Visible Glory. All of the included audio recording excerpts feature individuals who identified themselves and spoke intentionally with the knowledge that they were being recorded. The audio files have been edited for clarity.

Please contact the Library if you have any information regarding the rights holders to these materials. If you are a rights holder who does not wish material to be displayed in the collection, please send a written request to remove the image to: Lovejoy Library, ATTN: Mary Rose, Campus Box 1063, Edwardsville, IL 62026, mrose@siue.edu