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The Civil Rights Movement 1 the Civil Rights Movement Addison Gallery of American Art Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide: The Civil Rights Movement 1 The Civil Rights Movement How can photography be used to expose inequity in society and sway public opinion? How are contemporary perspectives informed by historical narratives? Although the roots of the movement stretched back centuries, images of the African American fight for equality gained far greater exposure in the 1950s and 60s than in previous decades as pictures of white aggression, black suffering, police brutality, freedom marches, sit-ins, and funerals were widely broadcast on TV and published in books, magazines, newspapers, and posters. This Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide of historic photographs features a sampling of works from the Addison’s collection offering varied perspectives and discussion points for this formative period. Educators are encouraged to use this Guide and the expanded Portfolio Image List as a starting point, a place from which to dig deeper, ask questions, and make new connections for class plans and projects. This Portfolio Guide contains selected For online use, click the images in this guide to access digital images in the Addison’s online database. artworks and ideas to connect the Addison’s collection with classroom SELECTED THEMATIC APPROACHES themes, disciplines, and curricula. Documenting Segregation — What choices do photographers make, either consciously or unconsciously, Digital images of works from this Guide that reveal their perspectives? can be downloaded from the Addison’s website for use in classrooms. Visits to Behind the Scenes Perspectives — How can the power of images to sway public opinion be harnessed by a explore works in the Addison’s Museum social or political movement? Learning Center can be arranged as a Images of and as Protest — How can photography and photojournalism be a form of protest? complement to the viewing of current Documentation: RFK — What stories about society can images of tragic events tell? exhibitions. Comparing Perspectives: Media and Publicity — How does the reproduction of images perpetuate society’s www.addisongallery.org values, beliefs, fears, and aspirations? Addison Gallery of American Art Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide: The Civil Rights Movement 2 A Robert Frank (b. 1924), Trolley, New Orleans, from series The Americans, neg. 1955-56, print c. 1981, gelatin silver print, 9 3/4 x 15 in., museum purchase, 1989.77.18 B Robert Frank (b. 1924), Charleston, South Carolina, from series The Americans, neg. 1955-56, print c. 1981, gelatin silver print, 9 15/16 x 14 13/16 in., museum purchase, 1989.77.13 C Elliott Erwitt (b. 1928), North A B Carolina, 1950, gelatin silver print, 7 15/16 x 12 in., museum purchase, 1986.19 D Danny Lyon (b. 1942), Demonstration at an “all-white” swimming pool, Cairo, Illinois, from series The Complete Civil Rights Portfolio, 1962, printed 2005, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in., museum purchase in memory of Rebecca B. Miller and Albertine B. Hayes, 2012.79.1 C D Documenting Segregation What choices do photographers make, either consciously or unconsciously, that reveal their perspectives? How can photography and video be used to expose and publicize inequity in society today? In 1955-56, a Guggenheim Fellowship allowed Robert Frank, a Swiss-born photographer, to travel throughout the United States with the goal of creating a book. The 83 photographs ultimately chosen for The Americans offer a raw and insightful documentation of a country in transition, both celebrating its strengths and exposing the cracks in the veneer of hope and optimism that defined postwar culture. Frank’s photograph of a segregated trolley in New Orleans, with its black riders in the back and whites in the front, seemingly imprisoned behind the “bars” of the windows, reveals the blatant inequalities that were still such a part of life in the South at the time. Photojournalist Elliot Erwitt’s photograph of segregated water fountains was not intended to be a symbol of the Civil Rights era; he just happened upon the scene and was drawn to the juxtaposition of elements. Nevertheless, the resulting photograph quickly gained currency as a call for change. Emblematic of the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation throughout the South beginning in the 1890s, the physical discrepancy between the fountains reveals the hypocrisy of “separate but equal.” Addison Gallery of American Art Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide: The Civil Rights Movement 3 F Danny Lyon (b. 1942), SNCC workers outside the funeral for girls killed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: Emma Bell, Dorie Ladner, Dona Richards, Sam Shirah, and Doris Derby, Birmingham, Alabama, from series The Complete Civil Rights Portfolio, 1962, printed 2005, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in., museum purchase in memory of Rebecca B. Miller and Albertine B. Hayes, F 2012.79.21 G Danny Lyon (b. 1942), Singing group at the March on Washington. Basis for the SNCC poster titled “Now,” Washington, DC, from series The Complete Civil Rights Portfolio, 1962, printed 2005, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in., museum purchase in memory of Rebecca B. Miller and Albertine B. G Hayes, 2012.79.15 H Gordon Parks (1912-2006), Untitled H (Black Muslims), 1963, gelatin silver print, 9 x 13 3/16 in., museum purchase, 2017.13 I Stephen Shames (b. 1947), Panthers in Provo Park in Berkeley, 1969, printed 1976, gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 in., purchased as the gift of Katherine D. and Stephen C. Sherrill (PA 1971, and P 2005, 2007, 2010), 2007.98 J J Stephen Shames (b. 1947), Lt. Tamm I Arresting Franklin Alexander, Head of the Angela Davis Defense Committee in San Jose, 1969, printed 1976, gelatin silver print, 5 x 9 1/2 in., Behind the Scenes Persepctives purchased as the gift of Katherine D. and Stephen C. Sherrill (PA 1971, and P What additional perspectives can behind-the-scenes access to groups and organizations provide? 2005, 2007, 2010), 2007.106 How is the power of images harnessed by social or political movements today, such as Black Lives Matter? In 1962, Danny Lyon, then a 20-year old University of Chicago student, was hired as the first staff photographer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). His photographs take us inside the movement and document the idealistic and multiracial character of the movement’s early years, showing how students joined together to peacefully combat racism (additional photographs on pages 2 and 5). In 1963, Gordon Parks, Life magazine’s first African-American staff photographer, was sent on assignment to photograph Black Muslims, followers of the Nation of Islam, a religious organization that combined Muslim tenets with black nationalism. Parks was granted unprecedented access to photograph the movement for the magazine, from self-defense classes, to training against live police dogs, to demonstrations. The principal chronicler of the Black Panthers, the photographs of Steven Shames, then a student at UC Berkeley, offer a more nuanced view of the group than was portrayed in the media. Shames’ behind-the- scene images reveal the complexity of the militant national organization, which advocated insurrection and armed resistance but also fought for empowered black communities. Addison Gallery of American Art Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide: The Civil Rights Movement 4 K Ernest C. Withers (1922-2007), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Reverend Ralph Abernathy on First Desegregated Bus Ride. Montgomery, Alabama, December 21, 1956, 1956, gelatin silver print, 14 x 17 in., gift of Harvey and Sondra Burg, 2010.71 L James Karales (1930-2002), Selma to Montgomery March, 1965, gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 in., purchased as the gift of Katherine D. and Stephen C. Sherrill (PA 1971, and P 2005, 2007, 2010), 2010.8 K L Images of and as Protest How do the intentions of photographers, editors, and publishers impact the narrative of a national story? How does photography and photojournalism act as a form of protest today? African American freelance photographer Ernest Withers documented many of the most important events of the Civil Rights era, including the quiet dignity of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy riding on the first desegregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 21, 1956. Despite lending considerable time and talent to advocacy, social justice, and equality, Withers was recently revealed to have also been an FBI informant. While shocking, this dual role speaks to the complexity of the times and the enormous pressure exerted on people to inform. A photographer for Look magazine, James Karales was sent to shoot the Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights for an upcoming article. On March 25, 1965, 25,000 participants—the largest civil rights gathering the South had yet seen—converged at Alabama’s state capital of Montgomery, concluding a four-day march that began fifty-four miles away in Selma. Karales’ now iconic photograph of marchers crossing barren land under a stormy sky captures the spirit and strength of conviction demonstrated by hundreds of Americans seeking basic human rights during those tumultuous and dangerous times. Addison Gallery of American Art Permanent Collection Portfolio Guide: The Civil Rights Movement 5 M Danny Lyon (b. 1942), Arrest of Eddie Brown, Albany, Georgia, from series The Complete Civil Rights Portfolio, 1962, printed 2005, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in., museum purchase in memory of Rebecca B. Miller and Albertine B. Hayes, 2012.79.6 N Robert (Bob) Adelman (b. 1930), Alabama. Birmingham. 1963, 1963, printed later, gelatin silver print, 6 5/8 x 9 11/16 in., © Bob Adelman/Magnum Photos M N 0 Danny Lyon (b. 1942), Clifford Vaughs, SNCC photographer, is arrested by the National Guard, Cambridge, Maryland, 1962, printed 2005, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in., museum purchase in memory of Rebecca B. Miller and Albertine B.
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