Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi inaugurates City of Hope Exhibition in Chennai

Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi launched “City of Hope: Gandhi, King, and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign” at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai on January 20 (Monday), observed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The exhibition showcases Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on civil rights in the United States and India’s influence on Martin Luther King Jr.’s daring vision for economic justice and human rights worldwide.

The U.S. Consulate General Chennai brought this Smithsonian exhibition to Chennai in association with the Meridian International Center and their in-country partner ReReeti Foundation.  The exhibition is part of the 2025 Chennai Photo Biennale.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily (except January 26 Republic Day) at Anna Centenary Library until January 30 Martyrs’ Day, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.  The expo will be held in different cities across India, including Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Kolkata.

Dr. Aaron Bryant, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, was the guest of honor at the exhibition’s inauguration in Chennai and Jeanne Briganti, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General Chennai, chaired the event.  Tejshvi Jain, Founder-Director at ReReeti Foundation, Shuchi Kapoor, Director of the Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation, and Muththamizh Kalaivizhi, Founder and CEO of NEELAM Trust, were also present.

Inaugurating the exhibition, Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said, “Social, economic, and gender equality must be established and the basic human right of education should be provided for all the people around the world.”

Jeanne Briganti, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General Chennai, said, “One cannot truly talk about the American Civil Rights Movements and Martin Luther King, Jr. without including Mahatma Gandhi.  These two great figures never met, but Gandhiji’s teachings and philosophy, particularly the doctrines of non-violent resistance, service to the community and social justice, were a huge influence on King and through him on the civil rights movement in America.”

Aaron Bryant, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, said, “In 1959, Martin Luther King Jr. spent a month traveling through India, and when he first arrived, he commented, “For a long while, I have looked forward to visiting your great country.  To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim.”

King recognized the influence that India and historic figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru had on his own ideas.  India’s history of social justice and Gandhi’s methods for peaceful resistance informed the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and King’s philosophies on human rights throughout his life and career.  So, it is an honor to bring the City of Hope exhibition to India, a country that meant so much to King and social progress in the United States.

The exhibition also celebrates artists and recognizes that art and artists have been central to driving conversations on social progress, justice, and change.”