ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON
Cherry Chapman had two goals in mind this year when she asked her middle-school students to paint a series of pictures chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
First, she hoped to deepen their connection to King by getting them to imagine themselves by his side during a significant event in his life.
Her other goal was to introduce them to another African-American hero, Jacob Lawrence.
Lawrence was a ground-breaking artist who was recognized for his work chronicling people and historical events relevant to the African-American experience at a time, during the dawn of the civil rights movement, when such work was not fashionable.
Chapman, an art teacher at Community School in Roanoke, assigned her students to paint their pictures of King in Lawrence's distinct, simplified style. King is a subject Lawrence never took on himself.
Her students, Chapman said, portrayed King at his birth, in his childhood, on his wedding day, during the fire-bombing of his home, the march on Washington, his assassination, and his funeral, among other points in his life.
``This is nothing new to them,'' she said. ``There's no shock or anything like that, but a couple of these things are pretty brutal. So, I guess it reinforced for them his life and his struggles,'' Chapman said. ``They also learned something about Jacob Lawrence and his life and struggles, how he used his art to dignify the subject of African-Americans.''
Much like King, she said, Lawrence was ``truly a spokesman for his race.''
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON STAFF Cherry Chapman colorby CNB