“A Matter of Building Bridges”: Photography and African American Education, 1957–1972 Connie H. Choi Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2019 © 2019 Connie H. Choi All rights reserved ABSTRACT “A Matter of Building Bridges”: Photography and African American Education, 1957–1972 Connie H. Choi This dissertation examines the use of photography in civil rights educational efforts from 1957 to 1972. Photography played an important role in the long civil rights movement, resulting in major legal advances and greater public awareness of discriminatory practices against people of color. For most civil rights organizations and many African Americans, education was seen as the single most important factor in breaking down social and political barriers, and efforts toward equal education opportunities dramatically increased following the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. My dissertation therefore investigates photography’s distinct role in documenting the activities of three educational initiatives—the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, the Mississippi Freedom Schools formed the summer of 1964, and the Black Panther liberation schools established in Oakland, California, in 1969—to reveal the deep and savvy understanding of civil rights and Black Power organizations of the relationship between educational opportunities and political power. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Central High School ............................................................................................... 36 Chapter Two: Freedom Summer ................................................................................................... 78 Chapter Three: Black Panther Party Survival Programs ............................................................. 124 Coda ............................................................................................................................................ 166 Illustrations ................................................................................................................................. 171 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 224 i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Moneta Sleet Jr. (American, 1926–1996), Rosa Parks, Dr. and Mrs. Abernathy, Dr. Ralph Bunche, and Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr. leading marchers into Montgomery , 1965, gelatin silver print 2. Charles Moore (American, 1931–2010), Freedom Marchers joining hands to sing “We Shall Overcome ,” 1963, gelatin silver print 3. Moneta Sleet Jr., Selma Marchers on Road to Montgomery , 1965, gelatin silver print 4. Gordon Parks (American, 1912–2006), Malcolm X Holding Up Black Muslim Newspaper, Chicago, Illinois, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 5. Danny Lyon, The Leesburg Stockade, Georgia, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 6. Robert A. Sengstacke (American, 1943–2017), Untitled (MLK and Crowd in Chicago) , 1965, gelatin silver print 7. Moneta Sleet Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the midst at the March on Washington , 1963, gelatin silver print 8. Moneta Sleet Jr., Selma Marcher reading during break , 1965, gelatin silver print 9. Gordon Parks, Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 10. Roy DeCarava (American, 1919–2009), Two marchers talking, Washington, D.C. , 1963, gelatin silver print 11. Roy DeCarava, Woman in sandals, Washington, D.C. , 1963, gelatin silver print 12. Bruce Davidson (American, born 1933), Young Man with “Vote” Painted on Forehead, Selma, Alabama, 1965 , 1965, gelatin silver print 13. Danny Lyon (American, born 1942), Fannie Lou Hamer, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 1964 , 1964, gelatin silver print 14. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee button, circa 1964 15. Danny Lyon, John Lewis with Demonstrators, Cairo, Illinois, 1962 , 1962, gelatin silver print 16. Danny Lyon, Bob Dylan Playing Behind the SNCC Office, Greenwood, Mississippi, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 17. Richard Avedon (American, 1923–2004), George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, New York, November 6, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 18. Richard Avedon, George Wallace, former Governor of Alabama, with his valet, Jimmy Dallas, Montgomery, Alabama, July 31, 1993 , 1993, gelatin silver print 19. Richard Avedon, Julian Bond and members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Atlanta, Georgia, March 23, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 20. Charles Moore, Firefighters aiming high-pressure water hoses at civil rights demonstrators, Birmingham, Alabama , May 1963, gelatin silver print 21. Charles Moore, Police using dogs to attach civil rights demonstrators, Birmingham, Alabama , May 3, 1963, gelatin silver print 22. Bruce Davidson, National Guard Soldiers Escort Freedom Riders, Montgomery, Alabama, 1961 , 1961, gelatin silver print 23. Bruce Davidson, Ku Klux Klan Rally, Atlanta, Georgia , 1962, gelatin silver print 24. Bruce Davidson, Car of Viola Liuzzo, Selma, Alabama, 1965 , 1965, gelatin silver print ii 25. Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922–2007), William Edwin Jones puses daughter during protest march on Main St., Memphis, TN, August 1961, 1961, gelatin silver print 26. Charles Moore, Voter registration , 1963–64, gelatin silver print 27. Ernest C. Withers, Young woman receives her vote registration card, Fayette County, TN 1960 , 1960, gelatin silver print 28. Robert A. Sengstacke, Untitled (Catching the Ball at the Wall of Respect), 1967, printed ca. 1980, gelatin silver print 29. Gordon Parks, Ethel Sharrieff, Chicago, Illinois, 1963 , 1963, gelatin silver print 30. Gordon Parks, Muhammad Ali, Miami, Florida, 1966 , 1966, gelatin silver print 31. Gordon Parks, Eldridge Cleaver and His Wife, Kathleen, Algiers, Algeria, 1970 , 1970, gelatin silver print 32. “Eldridge Cleaver in Algiers, a visit with Papa Rage: Nineteen Men the Panthers Listed as ‘Murdered,’” Life magazine, Feb. 6, 1970, 22–23. 33. Unidentified photographer, Untitled , September 4, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas State Press , September 13, 1957 34. Unidentified photographer, Untitled , September 4, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas State Press , September 13, 1957 35. Will Counts (American, 1931–2001), Untitled , September 4, 1957, photographs, published in the Arkansas Democrat , September 4, 1957 36. Will Counts, Untitled , September 4, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas Democrat , September 4, 1957 37. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas Democrat , September 23, 1957 and the Arkansas State Press , September 27, 1957 38. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas Democrat , September 23, 1957 and the Arkansas State Press , September 27, 1957 39. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph 40. Unidentified photographer, Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith , 1930, gelatin silver print 41. Unidentified artist, Remember Little Rock , n.d., work on paper 42. O.D. Gunther, Untitled , September 25, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas Democrat , September 25, 1957 43. Unidentified artist, Untitled , 1958, work on paper 44. Unidentified artist, Untitled , ca. 1957–8, work on paper 45. Unidentified artist, Untitled , ca. 1957–8, work on paper 46. United Press Photo, Untitled , September 8, 1957, photograph, published in the Arkansas Gazette , September 9, 1957 47. William P. Straeter, Students Resist Integration , September 9, 1957, published in the New York Times , September 10, 1957 48. Will Counts, Untitled , September 4, 1957, photograph, published in the New York Times , September 5, 1957 49. Associated Press Wirephotos, Untitled , September 4, 1957, photograph, published in the New York Times , September 5, 1957 50. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph, published in the New York Times , September 24, 1957 51. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph, published in the New York Times , September 24, 1957 iii 52. Will Counts, Untitled , September 23, 1957, photograph, published in the New York Times , September 24, 1957 53. Will Counts, Untitled , 1997, photograph 54. Will Counts, Untitled , 1997, photograph 55. John Maurer (American, born 1925), Literacy Class for Adults, Ruleville, MS , 1964, black- and-white photograph 56. J.T. Zealy (American, 1812–1893), Jack (driver), Guinea. Plantation of B.F. Taylor, Esq., Columbia, S.C. , March 1850, daguerreotype 57. J.T. Zealy, Renty, Congo. Plantation of B.F. Taylor, Esq. , March 1850, daguerreotype 58. Ronnie Moore (American, born 1940), Meridian Community Center, Mississippi, 1964. Rita Schwerner. , 1964, black-and-white photograph 59. John Maurer, Local Kids using the Church Library, Batesville, MS, 1964, black-and-white photograph 60. Herbert Randall (American, born 1936), Two African-American