A weird, poignant sequence of events last week:

Last Sunday, African-American and Jewish Baltimoreans gathered  together at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in a kind of collective swoon over an art exhibit themed around the shared experiences of the two historically-persecuted groups.

There was a palpable buzz of joy and discovery among the diverse members of the crowd at the Feb. 13 opening of “Loring Cornish: In Each Others’ Shoes.”  Some 400 people listened as the artist explained his work — mosaics and assemblages that combined colorful glass, menorahs, slave shackles and old basketballs and referenced the Holocaust, the Montgomery bus boycott and other events central to the two groups’ diaspora stories.

Then, on Wednesday, the city saw a very different scene, suggesting anything but unity between these two groups as they gathered in front of the Mitchell Courthouse for the appearance of two members of a Jewish citizen patrol group, accused of beating an African-American teenager.

The rancor between the two groups of picketers, as Avi and Eliyahu Werdesheim arrived to plead “not guilty” to the charges, was every bit as palpable as the joy and unity days ago at the museum.

Cornish is, of course, aware of the particular timeliness of his work given this flare-up of tensions, and recently referenced the on-going Werdesheim case (trial is set for May 2)  in an interview in The Baltimore Jewish Times.

“This exhibition deals with the pains of yesterday, where people came from and the difficult times endured by both groups,” he told The Times. “I hope it heals or can add to the healings of today’s troubles. A lot of Jewish leaders were around during the days of Martin Luther King Jr.  We have to reflect on that. One isolated incident should not be the catalyst of ripping apart two groups of people.”