Ulysses Curry

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC, designed by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe, opened in 1972. Mies van der Rohe also designed the Lafayette Park housing development in Detroit, Michigan. In 2021, the library reopened after a major renovation by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo (Lead Architect) and OTJ Architects (Executive Architect). The library represents a major anchor institution in Washington, DC—a majority Black city in the 1960s and 1970s—and it is a cultural landmark, a vital location where notable civic leaders, politicians, academics, and activists spoke to broad constituencies during pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Photographer Ulysses Curry photographed the renovated library for CriticalProductive in 2023. Photographs © 2025 by Ulysses Curry.