I Am A Man; from the portfolio I Am A Man
Artist: Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922 - 2007)
Publisher: Panopticon Press, Tony Decaneas, Waltham, MA
Date: photographs: 1956-1968; portfolio: 1994
Dimensions:
sheet: 15 15/16 x 19 13/16 in. (40.5 x 50.3 cm)
image: 11 11/16 x 18 13/16 in. (29.7 x 47.8 cm)
Sheet, according to WAC form: 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Mrs. George W. Stevens Fund
Object number: 2003.46A
Label Text:African American freelance photographer Ernest Withers documented many of the most important events of the Civil Rights Era, from the galvanizing murder trial of Emmett Till in 1955 through the Montgomery bus boycott, the marches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the rise of Black Power, and Dr. King’s assassination. His insightful images had a wide impact, helping to enact social change. “I was trained as a high school student in history,” Withers said. “But I didn’t know that I would be recording the high multitude of imagery and history that I did record.” The I Am a Man portfolio of 10 photographs taken from 1956 through 1968 was assembled by Withers and published in 1994.
In September 2010, three years after Withers’ death, evidence emerged that Withers had spent time on the payroll of the FBI, providing information to J. Edgar Hoover on civil rights events and leaders, including King and suspected black militants. The revelation has understandably caused controversy and a re-examination of Withers’ career.
Question: Does this information affect the way you see Withers’ photographs? Should it?
In September 2010, three years after Withers’ death, evidence emerged that Withers had spent time on the payroll of the FBI, providing information to J. Edgar Hoover on civil rights events and leaders, including King and suspected black militants. The revelation has understandably caused controversy and a re-examination of Withers’ career.
Question: Does this information affect the way you see Withers’ photographs? Should it?
DescriptionPortfolio with letterpress text and ten gelatin silver prints.
Not on view