African-American News and Commentary: Extremely Rare Photos of the Civil Rights Movement

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Extremely Rare Photos of the Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission, simply put, was to achieve civil rights for each American citizen, regardless of race. For this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Magnum looks back at King’s leadership and the fruits of his labors during the final decade of his life.UNITED STATES—A portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., 1968.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Crowds gather at the reflecting pools by the Washington Monument for the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom led by King, May 17, 1957.

ATLANTA—King, as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, at home with his wife, Coretta, 1961.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A segregated cab service, 1962.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—National Guard soldiers escort Freedom Riders along their route from Montgomery to Jackson, Miss., 1961.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference declaring the Freedom Rides will continue. John Lewis (with bandage) was beaten by the KKK earlier on in Montgomery, 1961.

ALABAMA—From the series Black Americans, 1963.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee sing freedom songs during the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At the climax of his "I Have a Dream" speech, King, the final speaker at the March on Washington, raises his arm on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and calls out for deliverance with electrifying words from an old Negro spiritual hymn: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!" 1963.

ALABAMA—Children waving to marchers from a porch during the Selma march, 1965.

SELMA, Ala.—King smiles triumphantly after a Montgomery federal judge granted him permission to begin the Selma to Montgomery March, 1965.

SELMA, Ala.—Protesters and police face off a few hundred feet from Brown Chapel. The police blockade was called the "Selma Wall" and the "38^th parallel" by protesters, 1965.

BALTIMORE, Md.—King is greeted on his return to the United States after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Oct. 31, 1964.

ALABAMA—A young man with "Vote" painted on his forehead walking in the Selma March, 1965.

CAMDEN, Ala.—King with his children, who are getting a chance to work with their father, speaks to potential black voters about sacrifies that were made to gain the right to vote, 1966.