Photography's Contribution to the Civil Rights Movement
Duke research associate Leigh Raiford discusses how SNCC used photographs in promoting the cause
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
To Leigh Raiford, photographs taken during the Civil Rights movement are much more than reminders of the past.
"Social movement photography," such as the photography done by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1960s, was crucial in forming the Civil Rights movement's political identity, mobilizing people and expanding support.
"Rather than viewing these images as historical artifacts, view them also as a bridge to a utopian vision for the future," said Raiford, a research associate at the John Hope Franklin Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies.
Raiford's talk last week at the John Hope Franklin Center was the first in a series planned by the Civil Rights Workshop and the African and African-American Studies Program for 2003-04. The Civil Rights Workshop was created last year by a group of Duke scholars and students to facilitate research and studies about the Civil Rights movement.
Photography, according to Raiford, was an important weapon for the SNCC. First, the presence of a camera acted as protection for activists participating in events.
"Brutality became impotent when it could not be pursued in stealth," Raiford said.
Additionally, the photographs immortalized images that the mainstream media could not be relied upon to display accurately, if at all. The SNCC's photographs were not merely images of violence, Raiford said, but also powerful in that they captured moments of poignancy that were harder to communicate than dramatic shots.
"Come Let Us Build a New World Together," the title of Raiford's lecture, was the caption of one photograph of three African Americans kneeling in prayer by a segregated pool. One of the subjects of the photograph was a small girl, and on either side of her were two adult men. The girl's head was bowed so low that only the top of her head could be seen.
According to Raiford, the image does not necessarily convey the idea that the men are supporting the girl. Instead, the girl is in full possession of her body, with her small fingers wrapped around her knee and the index finger of her right hand pointed forward, serving as a compass. Raiford points out that in this image, there is not one central, dominating personality; rather, it depicts group-centered leadership and collective action, focusing on the central role of youth.
This image, and other photographs that similarly invoked a sense of group defiance, showed that African Americans were capable of changing the conditions of their lives. An adage adopted by SNCC, "If it bleeds, it needs," was an important force in the images taken by SNCC photographers, Raiford said.
By making visible the suffering as well as the collective potential of the Civil Rights movement, social movement photography provided a way for people to claim ownership over those images and invest them with meaning.
by Eileen Kuo
