upcoming exhibitions |
seeking justice: The Leo Frank Case Revisited
February10 — December 31, 2008
The Breman Museum’s special exhibition Seeking Justice: The Leo Frank Case Revisited recounts the racially charged and tragic events surrounding the murder of Mary Phagan in 1913 and lynching of Leo Frank two years later. Seeking Justice includes intimate interviews reflecting on the terrible chain of events surrounding these two unsolved murders that shook the nation, as well as documentary materials and artifacts recently made public.
Seeking Justice will make its national premiere February 10, 2008, in Atlanta and remain on display through December 31, 2008, before traveling to other cities.
The Breman’s archival collections of materials relating to the Leo Frank case provide unparalleled documentation and artifacts for the exhibition, and original items will circulate with the traveling exhibition.
The murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan and later lynching of Leo Frank, her supervisor at the National Pencil Company, galvanized public opinion. The tragic death of Mary Phagan, a white Christian girl, followed by the trial and conviction of Leo Frank, her Jewish supervisor, became topics of intense accusation and defense across the nation. Local vigilantes lynched Frank after Georgia’s governor commuted his death sentence.
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The Phagan family, Marietta. |
Seeking Justice features interviews with descendants of family and friends of Leo Frank and Mary Phagan, new documentary materials, and artifacts that only recently been made public.
The Breman Museum is committed to sharing the historic story of Mary Phagan and Leo Frank, two individuals whose identities quickly became overshadowed by the far-reaching consequence of their murders, through the exhibition and related public events.
Programs and Events
A film series, book talk, Appalachian music performance, legal ethics class, and genealogy research workshop, all open to the public, will accompany the year-long exhibition at The Breman.
Film scholar Matthew Bernstein will lead a film series titled “Screening a Lynching” that explores how Hollywood has dealt with the controversial subject of lynching. Bernstein is associate professor and chair of the Department of Film Studies at Emory University.
Acclaimed author Steve Oney will talk about the conspiracy of silence that surrounded the Leo Frank lynching. Oney is author of And The Dead Shall Rise, a definitive book on the Leo Frank case.
The Appalachian music ensemble Georgia Fireflies will be featured in an event that highlights how ballads transmit history and how popular music, such as The Ballad of Mary Phagan, immortalizes subjects.
Education events include a two-hour roundtable session on the legal and ethical aspects of the Frank case. CLE credits are available the course “The Leo Frank Case: A Study in Ethics & Professionalism.” The course is designed not only for attorneys, but all who are fascinated by this history.
The workshop “Genealogy History Detectives” will trace the family histories of key individuals associated with the Leo Frank trial as examples of how genealogical techniques can help ordinary people research their own family trees.
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