March on Washington, August 28, 1963
Artist
Danny Lyon
(b. 1942)
Date1968
MediumGelatin silver print, printed later
Dimensions16 x 20 in.
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of George Stephanopoulos and Alexandra Wentworth
Terms
Object number2017.10.2
DescriptionLyon became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in his 20s and served as staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while attending the University of Chicago. Lyon documented countless Civil Rights events, including the historic 1963 March on Washington depicted in this photograph. During the march, thousands of protestors demanded greater efforts by the Federal Government to bring an end to racial discrimination, and Martin Luther King (1929-1968) delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. This image, dramatic and intimate, yet formally composed and rooted in realism, was used as an SNCC recruitment poster.
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