Freedom Now!: Forgotten Photographs of the Civil Rights Struggle

by Martin A. Berger

Photographers shot millions of pictures of the black civil rights struggle between the close of World War II and the early 1970s, yet most Americans today can recall just a handful of images that look remarkably similar. In the popular imagination, the civil rights movement is remembered in dramatic photographs of protestors attacked with police dogs and fire hoses, firebombs and shotguns, tear gas and billy clubs. The most famous images of the era show black activists victimized by violent Southern whites.

But there are other stories to be told. Blacks changed America through their action, not their suffering. In this groundbreaking catalogue, Martin Berger presents a collection of forgotten photographs that illustrate the action, heroism, and strength of black activists in driving social and legislative change. Freedom Now! highlights the power wielded by black men, women, and children in courthouses, community centers, department stores, political conventions, schools, and streets.

Freedom Now! reveals that we have inherited a photographic canon—and a picture of history—shaped by whites’ comfort with unthreatening images of victimized blacks. And it illustrates how and why particular people, events, and issues have been edited out of the photographic story we tell about our past. By considering the different values promoted in the forgotten photographs, readers will gain an understanding of African Americans’ role in rewriting U.S. history and the high stakes involved in selecting images with which to narrate our collective past.
 

Genres: History, Photography, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

My work explores the role played by the visual arts in identity formation. Making use of an eclectic assortment of primary evidence, including painting, photography, architecture, film and literature, I analyze how Americans both resist and embrace dominant norms of identity. While specifically concerned with the impact of identity formation on disempowered peoples, my scholarship consistently addresses the role of art in representing the identities of our society's most privileged members. In other words, instead of focusing on how images impact our sense of what it means to be "feminine" or "black," I explore how they condition our understanding of being "masculine" and "white."Concerned that the historical emphasis of scholars on representations of disempowered peoples has inadvertently reinforced the perception that empowered identities are fixed, or even natural, I illuminate their constructed and fluid nature. Because the identity of blacks, for example, has long been defined in opposition to that of whites, it is clear that privileged racial categories must play a significant role in impacting the lived experiences of people of color. People of color are ultimately harmed by racial norms and expectations that disadvantage them, but also by racial values that confer unearned advantages to whites.My 2005 book, Sight Unseen, explores how racial identity guides the interpretation of the visual world. Through a careful analysis of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century paintings, photographs, museums, and early motion pictures, I illustrate how a shared investment in whiteness invisibly guides what European-Americans see, what they accept as true, and ultimately, what legal, social, and economic policies they enact.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible photography presented in such an important way. The telling of history through photos in this book was by far my favorite. I read this on loan from my library and I already made up my mind that I would be buying this for own library one day. 10/10

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional work that deconstructs the stories told by the "canon," that is, the familiar photographs that we all know about the American Civil Rights struggle. I found Berger's take on the importance of depicting black activists as powerless, attacked, vulnerable to whites' violence fascinating. He points out that these classic photos are usually taken from the point of view of the whites -- allowing the viewer to distance her/himself from the violent white racists while inspiring altruistic, Good Samaritan impulses and confirming whites' sense that they can use their societal power to help. These classic photos were often taken by white journalists who quite understandably wanted to support and further blacks' struggle and use their skills to that end -- yet, their own biases filtered through and now have been enshrined in our cultural understanding of race. Berger offers other photos which show blacks as resisting, angry, powerful, joyful, self-actualized. It was an excellent book that I'd like to own.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great look at the Civil Rights Movement through picture. I think the most important part of this book was the included explanations of why these pictures were important and how they were viewed during the time period. The author goes into great detail when explaining how the cropping of the images changed the perspective of the picture. Many of these difference I never would have thought of but I am glad for a book like this to go so in depth about such an important subject.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

These photographs and the stories behind each one are so moving! It is sad to imagine the violence of the civil rights period. I'm very glad they ended with the "Joy" chapter though! Amazing photographs!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique photographs from the Civil Rights Movement with explanations as to what happened behind the picture. Must have book for African American history enthusiasts.

[Mills College Library]

323.1196 B4964 2013

[Mark Speltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Berger's scholarship and approach to these images is incredibly strong. Highly recommend this book to anyone exploring civil rights era photographs and the roles photography played.