Pictures from the book MINE EYES HAVE SEEN-bearing witness to the struggle for civil rights

James Whitmore filming Black Like Me, Tampa, Florida. 1964

“For many people in America, the book and then the film Black Like Me, in which a white journalist traveled the South in blackface, learning what it was like to be black in a segregated land, was a revelation.
Many whites had no idea of the daily indignities and the constant
strain visited by racism. Today blackface is rightly taboo. But Fred
Astaire’s homage to the great Bojangles and Black Like Me — those are
the exceptions to that rule.” — James Whitmore filming Black Like Me, Tampa, Florida. 1964 “For many people in America, the book and then the film Black Like Me, in which a white journalist traveled the South in blackface, learning what it was like to be black in a segregated land, was a revelation. Many whites had no idea of the daily indignities and the constant strain visited by racism. Today blackface is rightly taboo. But Fred Astaire’s homage to the great Bojangles and Black Like Me — those are the exceptions to that rule.”

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Playing “Statue,” a girl makes a face that breaks up her playmate, New York City. 1972

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Soul on fire: Amiri Baraka, Harlem, New York City. 1966

“Gifted poet, brilliant essayist, startling playwright
Amiri Baraka, who I knew as Leroi Jones in his youth,
has spent his life searching for the answers to the problems of African Americans — a search for systematic
answers to bedeviling questions. His quest led him
to Black Nationalism and, later, Scientific Socialism.” — Soul on fire: Amiri Baraka, Harlem, New York City. 1966 “Gifted poet, brilliant essayist, startling playwright Amiri Baraka, who I knew as Leroi Jones in his youth, has spent his life searching for the answers to the problems of African Americans — a search for systematic answers to bedeviling questions. His quest led him to Black Nationalism and, later, Scientific Socialism.”

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Master of them that know: writer Ralph Ellison, Harlem, New York City. 1968

“Ralph wrote the great American
novel, Invisible Man, and I had the
good fortune to benefit from his
wisdom through many, many hours
of great talk. I never met anyone
more intelligent and insightful,
or with a better sense of humor.
Ralph understood brilliantly how
black and white cultural life intertwined,
and he recognized how
much that interaction enriched
American life. His insights were
so powerful, they transformed my
vision and my photographs. No
one in my adult life influenced my
thinking more. — Master of them that know: writer Ralph Ellison, Harlem, New York City. 1968 “Ralph wrote the great American novel, Invisible Man, and I had the good fortune to benefit from his wisdom through many, many hours of great talk. I never met anyone more intelligent and insightful, or with a better sense of humor. Ralph understood brilliantly how black and white cultural life intertwined, and he recognized how much that interaction enriched American life. His insights were so powerful, they transformed my vision and my photographs. No one in my adult life influenced my thinking more."-Bob Adelman

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James Baldwin having a drink with his brother at a Broadway bar, New York City. 1965

“Many who saw Jimmy on television remember him as a scold. But if you knew him, he was the most tender, affectionate friend. He warned America that we were on the brink of racial chaos and we must find our way back to each other — hopefully through love. He could preach. And could he ever write. In a not-totally-sober moment, he confided that he became a writer because he thought he was ugly: The only way he could communicate with people was if they didn’t see him. Paradoxically, he became one of the most visible writers in the world, and nobody appreciated the irony of that more than Jimmy.” — James Baldwin having a drink with his brother at a Broadway bar, New York City. 1965 “Many who saw Jimmy on television remember him as a scold. But if you knew him, he was the most tender, affectionate friend. He warned America that we were on the brink of racial chaos and we must find our way back to each other — hopefully through love. He could preach. And could he ever write. In a not-totally-sober moment, he confided that he became a writer because he thought he was ugly: The only way he could communicate with people was if they didn’t see him. Paradoxically, he became one of the most visible writers in the world, and nobody appreciated the irony of that more than Jimmy.”

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James Baldwin mourns at a memorial service for the four girls killed in Birmingham in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. New York City, 1963.

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The Slugger: baseball great Hank Aaron at the All-Star Game, Kansas City, Missouri. 1975

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The Champ: heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, New York City. 1995

“During a break, Foreman told me that he was saved by a ‘benevolent society.’ He had been
doing poorly in school and was getting into trouble. Fearing police were looking for him,
he hid under his family’s home and covered himself in sand, breathing through a straw.
There had to be a better way. His salvation was a government-sponsored anti-poverty
boxing program, the Job Corps, that led to his Olympic gold medal and eventually the World Championship. — The Champ: heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, New York City. 1995 “During a break, Foreman told me that he was saved by a ‘benevolent society.’ He had been doing poorly in school and was getting into trouble. Fearing police were looking for him, he hid under his family’s home and covered himself in sand, breathing through a straw. There had to be a better way. His salvation was a government-sponsored anti-poverty boxing program, the Job Corps, that led to his Olympic gold medal and eventually the World Championship.

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Boys to men, Easter Sunday, Harlem, New York City. 1982

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Corridors of power: Lionel M. Stevens joins a growing cadre of savvy young black executives at a Wall Street firm in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement,
New York City. 1966 — Corridors of power: Lionel M. Stevens joins a growing cadre of savvy young black executives at a Wall Street firm in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, New York City. 1966

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Styling: A barber conks, or chemically straightens, his client’s hair, New York City. 1962

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Fly, at Kennedy Airport, New York City. 1970

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Celeb: Fans pose for a photo with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis before a game at Three Rivers Stadium,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1975 — Celeb: Fans pose for a photo with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis before a game at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1975

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“Silky,” a pimp, with his “stars,” New York City. 1970 “Why would a pimp who leeches off women end up as a popular culture hero? The illusion persists that there is some effortless way to make it to Easy Street. And in a world of one-parent families, a man who is getting it over on women may appear enviable. Outlaws can look like heroes to the young and rebellious. Maybe that’s why a good deal of the pimp’s lingo and myth and style permeates hip-hop. This isn’t brand new: Americans have been for generations listening to music, dancing, dressing and talking with expressions that started on the street. Jazz was first played in bordellos, jitterbugging and zoot suits came up from the underground. Chump change, a Wall Street expression, originally referred to the kind of money an unsuccessful pimp made.”