Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Hits the Road

The Smithsonian Institution today launched its first major exhibit celebrating the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. The traveling show opens in Detroit before moving to Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Memphis and Montgomery, Ala., for the next two years.

In a tribute to the diversity that King championed, the artists whose works appear in the show include Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, Ben Shahn and Andy Warhol. The 120 artworks, gathered from more than 100 collections, include portraits, responses to the civil rights movement that King led and photographs of the era, a Smithsonian spokeswoman said.

“In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” runs through July 28 at Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Open Wednesdays through Sundays. Adult admission is $5. (313) 494-5800, www.maah-detroit.org.