Martin Luther King, Jr.: Living Memory

Living Memory, a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered on kodak.com on the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Photographer Ben Fernandez first met Dr. King on April 15, 1967, at a march from Central Park to the United Nations. As the photographer took King’s photo, he saw a man wise to the price of freedom: “With a telescoping sight on a rifle, a sniper could have just as easily taken a shot at him. Dr. King was very aware of this, and often said he was sure he was going to come to a violent end.” Fernandez’s thoughts on capturing the image of Dr. King accompany several photographs, in addition to excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches and stories submitted by visitors to the site. The power and emotion of Ben Fernandez’s black-and-white photographs and Dr. King’s words stand eloquently on their own, so a clean and simple site design was used to focus attention entirely on those elements. Each photo is accessible from any point in the experience, while excerpts of Dr. King’s speeches simultaneously create a linear narrative. Users can submit their own stories and thoughts about Dr. King’s legacy, which are posted beneath the photo of their choice to create a living memorial. A custom soundtrack plays uninterruptedly throughout the visitor’s exploration of the site.