Getting the word: Ollie Robinson, an unemployed farmworker, learns to read, the Mississippi Delta, Mississippi. 1965
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Man examining sample registration form in Frank Robinson’s office, Sumter, SC 1962
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A study in impatient patience, voter applicants line up then wait — and wait and wait — to register, Clinton, Louisiana. 1964
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Words can wound, and the hecklers know it as they insult two black women who are part of a voting rights drive, Selma, Alabama. 1965
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After eight years of trying, the Reverend Joe Carter succeeds in registering to vote then is jeered as he walks down the courthouse steps, St. Francisville, Louisiana. 1964
“Joe Carter was the first African American in his parish to register to vote in the twentieth century — this despite the fact that two out of three residents of the parish were black. Once he succeeded in his quest, danger was in the air. I remember someone at the courthouse shouting at me, ‘Take his picture, it may be the last one he takes.’”
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Neighbors and civil rights workers gather to congratulate Carter and hear about his historic breakthrough, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. 1964
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Burned cross: In response to the Reverend Joe Carter’s efforts to register and vote, Klansmen attempt to intimidate local blacks, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. 1964
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Reverend Carter, expecting a visit from the Klan after he has dared to register to vote, stands guard on his front porch, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. 1964-
“After Reverend Carter had registered to vote, that night vigilant neighbors scattered in the woods near his farmhouse, which was at the end of a long dirt road, to help him if trouble arrived. ‘If they want a fight, we’ll fight,’ Joe Carter told me. ‘If I have to die, I’d rather die for right.’ “He told me, ‘I value my life more since I became a registered voter. A man is not a first-class citizen, a number one citizen, unless he is a voter.’ After Election Day came and went, Reverend Carter added, ‘I thanked the Lord that he let me live long enough to vote.’”
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Making his mark, one of the first African Americans to cast a vote under the new law exercises his franchise, Camden, Alabama. 1966
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A candidate ponders what he’s hearing as voter-registration organizer Frank Robinson offers assistance, Sumter, South Carolina. 1962
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Having his say: An illiterate first-time voter casts his ballot orally under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act as an FBI agent looks on, Camden, Alabama. 1966-
“During the debate on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Dr. King argued strenuously that illiterate blacks should have the right to cast their ballots orally. He justified his position by pointing out the poor quality of education offered in separate-but-equal schools.”
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A new day dawns: Voters, most of them about to fill out their first-ever ballots, line up at the courthouse, Camden, Alabama. 1966-
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed everything, outlawing literacy tests and other barriers. It made it possible for thousands of black officials to eventually be elected in the South, and it certainly helped in
the election of two white southerners to the presidency. It was a large
factor in the gradual decrease of racial tension throughout the South. In a rare show of unity, more than forty years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, Congress renewed the measure unanimously.”
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The Man: Prince Arnold stands in front of the courthouse. He is the first black sheriff elected under the Voting Rights Act in Wilcox County, Alabama.
1980
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The New South: In the old county courthouse, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby greets the sheriff, Camden, Alabama. 1992
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Black power: Activist Stokely Carmichael salutes a peace rally at the United Nations, New York City.
1967
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Black enterprise: A peddler displays his wares in a doorway on 125th Street, Harlem, New York City.
1968
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Malcolm X at a civil rights demonstration, Brooklyn, New York City. 1963-
“He was a fiery orator. No one could give tongue to the grievous wrongs suffered by African Americans in white America more trenchantly
than Malcolm. To get his message out to the assembled press, he
showed up at civil rights demonstrations as the photographer for The Messenger. We sometimes
discussed cameras and f- stops. I was surprised when he asked me how I thought the Black Muslim faith compared to Islam.
Emphasizing my limited knowledge, I very hesitantly favored Islam — it welcomed all races and was older and wiser. Some
time later he converted to Islam, which was a great revelation for him but, tragically, led to his assassination.”
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With Allah: Sheathed in accordance with Islamic tradition, the slain martyr is viewed by thousands, Harlem, New York City. 1965
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Malcolm X’s widow, Betty Shabazz, grieves at his funeral, Harlem, New York City. 1965
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A woman mourns at a public memorial service for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis, Tennessee. 1968
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Members of King’s family, including his wife and children, view his body as it lies in state, Atlanta, Georgia. 1968-
“The King family had had to share him with the world all his life, and now he was finally home. He once voiced how he wished to be remembered and those words resonated at his funeral. ‘I’d like someone to mention that I tried to be right on the war question … that I did try to feed the hungry … that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked … that I did try, in
my life, to visit those who were in prison … that I tried to love and serve humanity.’”
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South Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. 1968
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Young demonstrator at the Poor PeopleÕs March, Washington, D.C. 1968-
ÒKingÕs last great crusade was the Poor PeopleÕs March. He never made it to the march. Trying to help the poor in Memphis, he was cut down. And the poor are still with us. As King said in a sermon, ÔOne of the great agonies of life is that we are constantly trying to
finish that which is unfinishable.ÕÓ
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King funeral, Atlanta, Georgia. 1968
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Man in crowd, New York City.1965
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Malcolm X, Harlem, New York City. 1965
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Rosa Parks, Washington, D.C. 1963
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Unmarked clamshell grave, rural Wilcox County, Alabama 1970
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B.B. King at a statue of W.C. Handy, Memphis, Tennessee. 1968
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After church, Wilcox County, Alabama. 1970
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Duke Ellington in concert, New York City. 1966
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Louis Armstrong singing, New York City. 1966
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An arrest, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
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Montage of stars in lobby of Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York City. 1968
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Spring plowing, rural Alabama.1966
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Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey. 1964
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Author Ralph Ellison,. Harlem, New York City. 1968.
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Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral, Atlanta, Georgia. 1968
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Marchers in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 1963
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Marcher on Selma Highway, Alabama. 1963
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Laundry, Wilcox County, Alabama. 1966
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Segregated ferry, Mississippi River near St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, LA 1963
