Artist

Artist Unknown

Title

Bobby Rush, left, in fur hat, Illinois chairman of Black Panthers, surrounded by unidentified aides, leaves Criminal Court building (background) in Chicago after attending a Cook County Coroner's inquest into the controversial killing of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and Mark Clark

Date

January 6, 1970

Extended Read

Photographs published in newspapers alternated between being informative and expressive in their content. The Black Panther movement was founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in 1966, and provided the country with new perspectives on the meaning of Black empowerment and appreciation for Black culture. Fred Hampton became a prominent Black Panther leader, serving as deputy chairman of the national party, and chair of the Illinois chapter until his murder in Chicago in 1969 (Hampton was 21 years old). The news of Hampton’s murder was published in newspapers throughoutAmerica, yet this photo tells a much deeper story. Anger, confusion, and an overall driving motivation radiates from Bobby Rush and the men pictured. It’s as if they know this is the beginning of the long and hard fight ahead. The moment captured in this photograph seems to point to the emotional effects Hampton's death had on his friends and fellow Panthers.

Artist

Anonymous

Title

Gay Rights, AIDS memorial, San Francisco, CA

Date

ca. 1980's

Extended Read

The first acknowledged case of acquired immunodeficiency disorder (AIDS) in the United States was reported in 1978. By 1990, over 100,000 people in the United States had died from AIDS, which disproportionately affected gay men between the ages of 25 and 44. With no cure until 2007, the average life expectancy after diagnosis was six to nine months. Capturing close-up images of faces during the height of the AIDS epidemic was important in evoking empathy in the viewer, when homophobia fueled violence against the gay community. 

Artist

Artist Unknown

Title

Sympathy for Wounded Knee: a group of young Native Americans participate in a drum circle during a demonstration in support of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Date

March 1973

Extended Read

In early 1973, members of the Oglala Lakota tribe attempted to impeach corrupt tribal chairman, Richard Wilson. After impeachment efforts failed, Oglala Lakota elders turned to members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), who actively opposed Wilson, to help in their cause. Beginning on February 27, 1973, 250 Sioux Indians and AIM members occupied South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. Wilson, accompanied by his armed supporters, the Guardians of the Oglala Nation, FBI agents, and US Marshals, quickly placed a siege on Pine Ridge Reservation. After 71 days of occupation, AIM surrendered to federal troops, after two Sioux men were killed, and many more left injured. While this occupation did not end in AIM’s favor, it was widely covered by the media, gaining national support and spotlighting the demands of the American Indian Movement in the 1970s.

Artist

Gordon Coster

Title

Studies in Expressions during the Mass Funeral Services of the Steel Workers Slain in South Chicago, Memorial Day

Date

1937

Extended Read

During a workers’ strike against Chicago’s Republic Steel Corporation on Memorial Day in 1937, police officers fired bullets into the crowd of striking unionists and their families, killing ten people and injuring approximately 100. Dr. Lewis Andreas, a doctor in the area, was present for the resistance and witnessed the violence that ensued that day, helping where he could, yet ill-equipped to treat gunshot wounds. Dr. Andreas later discussed the media’s coverage of the Memorial Day Massacre and argued, “the misrepresentation was so regretful.” An image of a police officer beating a protester in The Chicago Tribune perpetuates the bias in the press with the jarring caption, “Striker beats up police at Republic Steel Riot.”

Artist

Danny Lyon

Title

Demonstrations at an "all-white" swimming pool in Cairo, Illinois

Date

1962

Artist

Ivan Massar

Title

Man leaning on fence with pipe at the Civil Rights March on Washington

Date

1963

Artist

Leonard Freed

Title

Demonstrators with pamphlets at Gay Liberation March, New York City

Date

1970

Artist

Anonymous/ International News Photo

Title

Singing "freedom songs" under police guard, hundreds of schoolchildren march down the middle of the street toward a detention compund after their mass arrest in front of the Dallas County courthouse, Selma, Alabama

Date

February 3, 1965

Extended Read

Beginning in March of 1965, between 2,000 and 3,000 marchers began their 54-mile hike from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to fight for the right for the Black vote in America. After crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, marchers were met by Alabama state troopers who blocked their path, beat protestors with whips and batons, and sprayed them with tear gas.

Artist

Anonymous

Title

The Selma to Montgomery Marches: marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on "Bloody Sunday," Selma

Date

March 22, 1965