Ernest C. Withers

Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922-2007)

A freelance photojournalist in Memphis, TN, Withers trained at the Army School of Photography. He documented life in the American South, photographing the Civil Rights movement and Southern segregation, travelling with Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers, and covering the Emmett Till Murder Trial. He also captured the vibrant Memphis music scene and the demise of the Negro Baseball League. His black and white press images – published in the pages of LIFE And TIME – reveal the cultural life and political activism of African Americans, earning him the respect of civil rights leaders. His status as an FBI informant was revealed in 2010, threatening to undermine his legacy.

Important Source Material:

Withers, Ernest C., Jack Hurley, Brooks Johnson, and Daniel J. Wolff. Pictures Tell the Story: Ernest C. Withers Reflections in History. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2000.

Withers, Ernest C. and Daniel J. Wolff. The Memphis Blues Again: Six Decades of Memphis Music Photographs. New York: Viking Studio, 2001.

Withers, Ernest C. and Antony Decaneas. Negro League Baseball. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

NHS