On behalf of The Alternative Museum, I would like to thank the officers of the Board of Trustees of the Flint Institute of Arts and in particular, John Henry, the Institute's Director, for providing The Alternative Museum with the opportunity to present Thy Brothers' Keeper. Their willingness and ability to realize the need for an exhibition that provides compassionate insight into the pressing issues of our times is courageous and speaks of their awareness and sensitivity to the global plight of the many people we can, in biblical terms, refer to as our global “Brothers.”

I am, of course, indebted to all the participating photographers for the generous use of their images, as well as the project's curators and catalogue essayists who were so generous with their professional skills, advice, and time. Their creative insights and suggestions were right on the mark every time and made the execution of this project a seamless and successful experience. In addition, their contributions also provided an international perspective to the content and urgency of this project.

I also wish to thank the Flint Institute of Arts' curatorial staff members Lisa Baylis Ashby, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions; Monique Desormeau, Curator of Education; Jill Johnson, Assistant to the Curator; Charles Gentry, Assistant Curator of Film and Video; and Michael Martin, Registrar, for their significant efforts in coordinating and helping to produce the exhibition, catalogue, film series, and related interpretive materials and programs. Special thanks goes to Development Officer Tracey Stewart who assisted in securing funding for the project. Also, Preparators Bryan Christie, Don Howell, and Jeffrey McLaurin must be commended for their creation of a beautiful exhibition installation at the FIA.

Local, regional, and even global outreach was important to this project and I want to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions to the development and implementation of programs to further stimulate discussion of the issues raised in Thy Brothers' Keeper: Howard Bossen, Ph.D., Professor, School of Journalism, Michigan State University; Fred Wagonlander, Art Education Visiting Lecturer, University of Michigan-Flint; Mara Fulmer, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Graphic Design Degree Program, and Lillie McCain, Professor of Social Science, and Paul Rozycki, Professor of Political Science, Mott Community College; Bruce Edwards, Staff Photographer, The Flint Journal; Richard Ramsdell, Flint Central High School; and Cheryl Pell, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. A global reach was the objective for the cyber catalogue and the exhibition’s accompanying DVD that was produced with the significant efforts of Marcus Pinto, The Alternative Museum's Webmaster.

We extend our most sincere thanks to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, its Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer William S. White for his vision and encouragement, and his staff for their assistance and support, including Patrick N. Naswell, Program Officer. We especially wish to thank Ann F. Richards for her insight and kind advice toward the development of this project.

Geno Rodriguez
Director, The Alternative Museum
New York City, 2006