I'm fairly sure I went to this last year. From the auditorium to the gallery to the hallways, The King Arts Complex in Columbus is turned into a multi-venue celebration of Martin Luther King Jr's life and spirit. The scope of the Remembering Martin: MLK Open House performances last year was impressive and I remember wishing that we had come earlier since there was a lot we missed. The auditorium, for example, had a full schedule of various singing and dance groups that were first rate.

One of my most favorite things, though, was the mural installation Cargo: Middle Passage that is made to look like the holdings of a slave ship. This is a permanent installation that has nothing specifically to do with the Martin Luther King open house but the open house what got me to the King Arts Complex. Visitors pass through this section when they go from one part of the building to another. There are interpretive writings about slavery and props that capture the essence of what it was like to travel on such a ship.

With the building that surrounds this installation bursting forth with creative forces and energy on the day that Martin Luther King Jr.s' life is celebrated seems like the most fitting of tributes. Cargo: Middle Passage is a dark spot of human history that also represents survival. The activities on January 15 are the essence of human glory. The gorgeous clothes some people wear to this event are also a sight to behold.