DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997                 TAG: 9703010066

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

COMMENT BOOK REVEALS POWER OF EXHIBIT

IT'S ALMOST like finding a box of old Life magazines in the attic and sharing it with friends.

But in this case, it's a photographic exhibit at Norfolk's Chrysler Museum that takes us back to the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s. And for the last 10 weeks people of all colors have been able to rummage through their memories of events they once witnessed or saw daily and weekly in the newspapers and newsmagazines of that era.

Some among the steady stream of visitors who've come, including those involved in the movement, stop to share feelings in a comment book at the end of the gallery. Their words tell us that those days still burn in their minds, rekindling a sense of community.

Any dust from those images has been blown away by Steven Kasher's collection of 70 powerful photos - ``The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, 1954-68.''

All in black and white, the photos remind us, in the 1990s, of the distance traveled since the 1950s and the courage of those who joined the movement, even by the act of registering to vote.

The photos depict living conditions of blacks in the Deep South, marches and rallies led by leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., signposts of segregation - separate water fountains and waiting rooms for whites and people of color - brutal beatings and aftermaths of burnings.

The memories, framed and mounted on museum walls, reach across the decades and continue to inspire. Proof of this - almost as a mini-exhibit itself - is found in the public comment book. It's a collection of jottings, mostly positive but with a sprinkling of idiocy and juvenile rantings.

What motivates people to share their thoughts with strangers? Whatever their reasons, we should thank them. Here are some of their reflections:

I remember traveling through the South as a child in the 1950s (from L.A.). I kept going into or using the `wrong' facilities. People very kindly told me that I wasn't in the `right' place - I needed to go elsewhere.

It had a profound impact on me, and continues to 40 years later. These photographs brought it all back on a very visceral level.

Photographs are powerful. I can only hope that they can open previously closed minds & hearts.

I experienced the separate water fountains, separate bathrooms. I remember the tears watching the cruelty as the movement started. . . .

I was only 13 years & I was so scared my leg seemed to want to give way as we marched in a circle and policemen . . . advised me how they would hurt me if I got one foot off the curb and into the street . . .

Thank God for the courage of so many unknown people white and black that contributed their lives.

I was in high school in Hopewell, VA when integration began. First six then 18 then 30 kids risked their lives over a three year period.

While there were no dogs or state police or water cannons, I remember these kids as the bravest people I have ever known.

Having grown up in this particular era 50s-60s this exhibit brought back a great deal of anguish, some joy but more importantly an endeavor to continue the struggle for true freedom.

I would appeal to the youth of this generation to attend as many exhibits, read as many books, watch as many movies as required to gain a better knowledge of our history, both the good and bad.

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