We Shall Overcome (10 Photos)
©Bob Adelman, Selma, Alabama, 1965
As a form of propaganda, activist photography tends not to stand the test of time. But among the many striking and even iconic images of the Civil Rights Movement were images shot by photographers who were working from within, particularly as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Some of their images endure for the formal beauty and raw emotion–not to mention the undeniable and systematic injustice–that they portray. University Press of Mississippi has just published 156 photographs by nine photographers in This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. “Together the photographs and text remind us that the movement was a battleground, that the battle was successfully fought by thousands of ‘ordinary’ Americans…and that the Movement’s moral vision and impact continue to shape our lives,” the publisher says. Images by Bob Adelman, who went on to a successful career as a photojournalist, stand out in particular. Also included in the book are some noteworthy images by George Ballis, Bob Fitch, Bob Fletcher, Matt Herron, David Prince, Herbert Randall, Maria Varela and Tamio Wakayama. with personal accounts of covering the Civil Rights movement by several of the photographers.
Sharecropper’s shack, Mississippi Delta, 1964. ©Tamio Wakayama
©Bob Adelman, Dallas, Texas, 1964
©Tamio Wakayama, Indianola, Mississippi, 1964
©Bob Adelman, Clinton, Louisiana, 1964
©Bob Adelman: Selma Alabama, 1965
©Matt Heron, Jackson Mississippi, 1965
© Bob Adelman, Birmingham, Alabama, 1963
Leaving church after the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Coretta Scott King; Alberta Williams King, King’s mother; and Christine Farras, King’s sister. ©Bob Fitch, Atlanta, Georgia, 1968
©Matt Heron, Alabama, 1965
Tags: activist photographers, Bob Adelman, Bob Fitch, Civil Rights, David Prince, George Ballis, Herbert Randall, Maria Varela, Matt Herron, Tamio Wakayama
March 1st, 2013 at 5:36 am EEDT
Thank You ~
I remember; I’ll never forget; I believe; I stand alone with the many; I feel your sorrows; I detest the reasons.
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/2/28/after_40_years_in_solitary_in
March 1st, 2013 at 11:26 pm EEDT
Umm… Voting Rights Act anyone? Hey, Judge Scalia! How about you? One Man, One Vote. Isn’t that the “Big Picture” here? That we all have our dignity respected as equals? That we all can participate in and have access to the collective self-determination that is called Democracy?
March 5th, 2013 at 3:14 am EEDT
this is what photojournalism is all about, right? speak the truth. there it is.
March 9th, 2013 at 7:31 am EEDT
Poignant reminders that advocating for peace, justice and equality is not for the faint of heart. There is inspiration here in the resilience, endurance, courage on both sides of the lens.
March 11th, 2013 at 12:26 pm EEDT
This collection of photos display what some Americans have to be ashamed for.
March 27th, 2013 at 5:27 am EEDT
I just love the black and white photos