Stephen Somerstein photographs of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery

Call Number

PR 314

Date

1965, inclusive

Creator

Somerstein, Stephen

Extent

4 Linear feet in 4 boxes

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are photographs but any text is in English.

Abstract

This collection consists of 59 photographs by Stephen Somerstein documenting the 1965 Civil Rights March from Selma to Mongomery, AL. There are some color prints, but most are black and white.

Biographical /Historical Note

Stephen Somerstein was a student at City College of New York and picture editor of the student newspaper when he traveled to Alabama in March 1965 to document the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery.

From March 21 to March 25, 1965, civil rights protesters marched from Selma to the state capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama to demonstrate against the violent resistance that the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other groups had encountered in their efforts to register African-American voters. On March 25, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the crowd of approximately 25,000 supporters from the steps of the Alabama State Capitol. Three months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

After graduating from college, Somerstein did not pursue photography as a career. Instead, he became a physicist and worked at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and at the Lockheed Martin Company. After retiring in 2008, he decided to return to photography. A selection of these photographs were the basis of an exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, Freedom Journey 1965: Photographs of the Selma to Montgomery March by Stephen Somerstein, which was on view from January 16, 2015-October 25, 2015.

Arrangement Note

The photographs are numbered according to numbers assigned by museum staff in preparation for exhibition in 2014, before the collection was accessioned. Prints 47-55 and 65 are not part of the collection.

Scope and Contents Note

This collection consists of 59 photographs which document the 1965 Civil Rights March form Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Notable individuals featured in the photos include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, James Baldwin, Joan Baez, and Harry Belafonte. A set of exhibition copies of the prints is available for reference.

Subjects

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation Note

This collection should be cited as: Stephen Somerstein Photographs of Civil Rights March from Selma Collection, PR 314, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, 2015, from the photographer.

Collection processed by

Marybeth Kavanagh

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:32 -0400.

Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Information

Processed by Marybeth Kavanagh, December 2016

Repository

New-York Historical Society

View Inventory

[1] CCNY students on bus heading to Alabama., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[2] Preparing to leave the City of St. Jude school grounds., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[3] Bobby Simmons, civil rights marcher, with "Vote" in white across forehead.

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[4] Civil rights marchers leaving the field of City of St. Jude school., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[5] Marchers passing Alabama State Bar building., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[6] Two young girls watching civil rights marchers pass by home., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[7] Two mothers and babies drinking from milk bottles and young girl watching civil rights marchers., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[8] Two men and four children, African-American, watching marchers from their porch., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[9] United States Army MPs guarding civil rights marchers on Route 80 at intersection. Road to state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. (color print), 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[10] Young boys in the street watching civil rights marchers pass by., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[11] Civil rights marchers walking through a town on Route 80, Jefferson Davis Highway, on road to state capitol., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[12] Two young marchers with small American flags marching through downtown Montgomery., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[13] Front of march preparing to leave City of St. Jude School- John Lewis, Ralph and Juanita Abernathy and others., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[14] Front line of marchers at City of St. Jude, from left, (full face), Rev. Arthur Motott, SNCC President John Lewis, Andrew Young, and Sister Mary Leoline., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[15] Civil rights marcher conversing with African-American women bystanders, as Selma to Montgomery march moves by., 1965

Box: 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[16] Young civil rights marchers singing as they march on the road to the state capitol in Montgomery, AL., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[17] Early arriving civil rights marchers cheering on later arriving marchers- rest stage., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[18] Multi-generations of women and children watching civil rights marchers. [color print], 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[19] African-American woman waving to civil rights marchers. [color print], 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[20] City dwellers outside their home watching civil rights marchers. [color print], 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[21] United States Army Military Police guarding civil rights marchers along Route 80, Jefferson Davis Highway., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[22] Heckling of the marchers on the streets of Montgomery, Alabama., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[23] White bystanders and office workers watching and filming civil rights marchers., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[24] Church elders arrayed across steps of Mt. Zion AME Church in Montgomery AL watching civil rights marchers below. [color print], 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[25] White bystanders watching civil rights marchers on street, downtown Montgomery., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[26] Civil rights marchers passing before a mostly African-American crowd on sidewalk outside Askin's Dept. Store, Montgomery., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[27] Proud civil rights marchers walking hand-in-hand up to state capitol in Montgomery., 1965

Box: 2 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[28] Harry Belafonte, Leon Bibb, Joan Baez and Oscar Brand., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[29] James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, A. Philip Randolph, speaker's platform., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[30] James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph, speaker's platform [in front of tree]., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[31] Bayard Rustin, Selma March organizer, 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[32] Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche on speaker's platform in front of Alabama state house., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[33] Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on speaker's platform befor his speech to 25,000 civil rights marchers., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[34] Rosa Parks speaking to 25,000 civil rights marchers. Rev. Ralph Abernathy on left., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[35] Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with civil rights and union leaders singing "We Shall Overcome.", 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)

[36] Andrew Young transfixed after singing National Anthem., 1965

Box: 3 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)