Community Corner

Ludwig's Passion

A local resident displays his black history exhibit of newspaper clippings, a collection that dates back to the 70s

The community room of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA was filled with posters early this morning.

As soon as you walked in, there you saw it, in a room to your left – posters propped up on tables, posters on easels, in windows, against the walls.

The room’s large windows gave way to an eloquent mix of sun light and shadows that ran across the posters like a well-coordinated light show. And milling in between all of the posters, straightening them just-so, was a man named Ludwig Jones.

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He called himself the curator. And this was his exhibit – a black history poster display of newspaper clippings, a collection that dates back to the 70s.

“This presentation is a passion of mine,” said Jones. “It’s to educate people to the history of blacks, not only in this country, but in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve got a collection here representing news from the United States, Africa, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

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“My hope is that people will come and see and learn more about the history of blacks throughout the world – their contributions and sufferings – and the fact that we’re still here, still standing.”

Jones, 69, said he started making the posters in the 70s, as a hobby for himself. He had been collecting old magazines and newspapers for years and one day felt compelled to turn what he saw as raw history into storyboards.

Almost four decades later, Jones has assembled and collected more than 100 story boards, each themed with an historical moment or history maker: The first black heart surgeon, the Little Rock Nine, Malcolm X, Olmec Stone heads of the Mayan Empire, the election of Nelson Mandela, the campaign and election of President Barack Obama and the history makers of Bed-Stuy, to name a few.

For years, Jones was an employee of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. After he retired in 2006, he said making the posters has become his passion.

“I read a lot. So if something comes out and hits me right in the eye, I think ‘I gotta take that out, I’ve got to get a copy that,’” said Jones. “And at some point, I’m able to go back to it, add to it, and make a presentation. That’s how it goes, and I enjoy it.”

He stores the posters in rooms throughout his home, something that is, he says, a bit of an annoyance for his wife.

“She says I’m taking up all the space in the house, so I’m constantly trying to find space to put them, because I never stop. I’m always digging, I’m always adding to it,” said Jones. “It looks like at some point in time, I’m going to have to rent space. But I tell you, it’s a joy.”

Jones says, he loves to watch people’s faces when they see a news item that jogs their memory, because they lived through the event. But mostly, he says, he just wants to see people of all backgrounds appreciate history, particularly the youth.

“This is precious to me; this is priceless,” said Jones of his exhibit, which is on display for one day only. “I’m hoping that students and adults alike will come by and see, so that folks will know that we have made a great contribution to human kind.

“We’ve had great civilizations, and that needs to be brought forward so that our present-day generations will know that we’ve come from a long line of contributors to history. Folks just gotta be interested in it,” he said, with pleading optimism.

No sooner had he said that, a group of about 20 high school students from Bedford Academy slowly sauntered in, led by the school’s principle, Adofo Muhammad.

“Come over here, you guys,” said Muhammad. He pointed to the poster of the Olmec statues. “Remember in global history class, the chapter on the Incas and the Mayans? Recall that we talked about the presence of Africans in Central and South America…”


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