“Thru the Past Darkly,” a collection of memorabilia featuring historical images of Africans and African-Americans, is on display at the King Arts Complex. Accumulated over a period of 30 years, the Donald K. Day Collection takes a historical journey by beginning with the derogatory and stereotypical images of Africans and moves on to the spirit and empowerment of the 1960s civil rights movement, said Chuck Benya, marketing director for The King Arts Complex.Day’s exhibit has been here before and is popular, he said. But, the images on display are not simply entertaining — they teach a lesson that negative representations of blacks should not be reproduced, he added.”The most phenomenal thing about this collection is how the images of African-Americans change from generation to generation,” said Christie Chiles, marketing assistant for the complex. “You go from slaves to milkmen and then to famous people like Joe Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who made positive names for themselves in history.” Images displayed in the collection include statues, figurines, paintings and even a Dennis Rodman doll in a wedding dress, said Chiles. “I do not have one particular piece that is my favorite because the collection as a whole tells the story,” Benya said. “Each piece of the collection plays a separate role.” These artistic images serve to reverse the damage of slavery and Jim Crow laws through their various representations of African and African-American history, he said.Because the display is so huge and to avoid having to travel from one museum to another, Day wants to open his own museum, said Chiles. “Thru the Past Darkly: Black Memorabilia” can be viewed Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., with additional hours Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit runs through March 31 in the Elijah Pierce and Corridor Galleries of The King Arts Complex, 867 Mount Vernon Ave.