Diversity Poster Exhibit At Tewksbury Library Through July 1

TEWKSBURY, MA -- An interesting and timely exhibit is open through July 1, 2021 at the Tewksbury Public Library. The exhibit is titled "Diversity" and it consists of about 20 posters from the collection of Stephen Lewis.

With the recent assaults on Asian people, religious inspired violence, and fatal encounters between police and Black people, it is an exhibit that may stimulate some more thinking on the subject of diversity. or similarities. among people. The posters hail from several countries including the US. Through graphics and written word, they address issues of racism, discrimination, gender identity, and religious intolerance.

Issues like racism have long existed in not only this country, but in many countries. Some people in this country like to believe that they are not racist. Civil rights leader Malcolm X once said many years ago, that “If you are born in this country, you have racial prejudice. The difference is that some people are trying to deal with it, others are not”. Lewis believes that is still true today. Homophobia is another prejudice that pits people against each other. It has taken many years and many deaths to get to the point today where some rights of gay people are finally being addressed in the law. Attitudes by many are lagging. Lewis encourages people to view the exhibit regardless of your attitudes and think about the issues the posters speak to. Lewis recalls a meeting he was having with a woman from Uganda. “I didn’t know I was black until I came to this country” she said, as they discussed racial attitudes in the US.

Lewis credits institutions like the Tewksbury Public Library with stimulating thinking about issues like diversity through literature, film and exhibits like this one.

The posters are from a collection of more than 9000 posters of Stephen Lewis. Lewis has been collecting political posters for 20 years and has been staging exhibits around Massachusetts for the past 17 years. Many of the posters are older but still reflect events that impact on us today.

Lewis attributes his love for the posters and creating exhibits, to his background as a political activist and a union leader. He states that many of his exhibits reflect issues he has been involved in over the course of his life. An example is his collection of anti-Apartheid posters. Lewis and his union were very involved in the anti-Apartheid struggle in Massachusetts, particularly in solidarity with the unions in South Africa. Lewis was once arrested during a sit-in at a Boston coin dealer that refused to stop selling the South African Kruggerand gold coins.

This project is supported in part by the Tewksbury Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and by Painters District Council 35, and Bricklayers Local 3.