The opening celebration of Coexistence brought more than 300 community leaders to The Hartford for a reception and evening tour of the exhibition. A performance by the Hartford Steel Symphony began the program, which featured speeches by Neal Wolin and Ramani Ayer of The Hartford and Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez. Two students from The University of Hartford Magnet School delivered a moving reading of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech. The evening culminated with the presentation of the “Coexistence Award” to Dr. Bernard LaFayette, a civil rights leader and current Director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Scroll down for more photos.

photos by Steven Laschever	> >back to main photo gallery page