Ernest Withers
Encyclopedia
Ernest Withers was an African American
freelance photographer famous for his black and white images of the segregated
South
in the 1950s and 60s, Negro league baseball
, and the Memphis blues
scene.
to a postal worker
father and exhibited interest in photography from a young age. During World War II
Withers received training at the Army School of Photography. After the war, Withers served as one of Memphis' first African American police officers.
In 2007 Withers died from the complications of a stroke in his hometown of Memphis. Withers and his wife Dorothy had eight children together.
under J. Edgar Hoover
. Withers reported on the activity of several Civil Rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr.
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
freelance photographer famous for his black and white images of the segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
in the 1950s and 60s, Negro league baseball
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
, and the Memphis blues
Memphis blues
The Memphis blues is a style of blues music that was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Memphis-area musicians like Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie...
scene.
Early life
Withers was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
to a postal worker
Postal worker
A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the and the American Postal Workers Union, part of the AFL-CIO. In Canada, they are represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and in the United Kingdom by the...
father and exhibited interest in photography from a young age. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Withers received training at the Army School of Photography. After the war, Withers served as one of Memphis' first African American police officers.
Career
His images captured America for nearly 60 years, preserving the good and the bad, in particular, racism. He traveled with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his public life. Withers' coverage of the Emmett Till murder trial brought national attention to the racial violence taking place during the 1950s in Mississippi, among other places. Withers appeared in a TV documentary about the murdered 14-year-old entitled The American Experience: The Murder of Emmett Till.In 2007 Withers died from the complications of a stroke in his hometown of Memphis. Withers and his wife Dorothy had eight children together.
FBI informant
Evidence that surfaced in 2010 shows that in the years 1968 to 1970 Ernest Withers served as a paid informant for the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
under J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
. Withers reported on the activity of several Civil Rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
.
External links
- Ernest C. Withers at Panopticon Gallery in Boston
- Obituary in The Times, 27 October 2007
- Bio-Sketch at Nathanielturner.com
- Civil Rights Photographer Recast As FBI Informant - slideshow by NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...