WE THE PEOPLE - KHALID ALBAIH

Against the backdrop of the US Presidential election, one of the most influential political cartoonists in the Arab world, Khalid Albaih, travelled from Washington, D.C. to Memphis, TN (via New York, NY and Houston, TX) exploring the shared struggle for human and civil rights between the Middle East and the United States. The journey culminated in Memphis with an event at the National Civil Rights Museum, located at the former Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

As pressure increases for human rights across the Middle East and North Africa, Khalid travelled across the US as part of the CULTURUNNERS US Tour, exploring the emerging race and civil rights issues in relation to heightened discussions around the presidential election campaigns.

As tensions rose and accusations sparkled, we saw the campaign reaching its peak, setting a fertile ground for a cartoonist who is used to covering politics in a delicate region like the Middle East.

Khalid started his journey in Washington D.C., taking part in a roundtable at the Arab Center of Washington, before flying to New York and then Houston, where he picked up the CULTURUNNERS RV and drove through the Southern US before arriving in Memphis, TN on May 5th where he co-hosted a historic talk at the National Civil Rights Museum.