Above: “A Monumental Journey” uses the form of African “talking drums” to raise awareness of cultural communications through history.
“A Monumental Journey,” the new downtown art installation commemorating the 1925 organizers of the National Bar Association in Des Moines, will be dedicated in ceremonies at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 12, on Hansen Triangle, at the corner of Grand and Second avenues. The monument honors the determination of a dozen African-American lawyers who created an independent bar association after being denied membership in the American Bar Association. The Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation commissioned Chicago-based sculptor Kerry James Marshall to create the work. He will discuss his career and the creation of this piece in a lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday in Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium, 2507 University Ave. Admission is free, but seating is limited, so register here to be included. Learn the history behind the monument in this article from the current issue of dsm magazine.
