In his more than sixty-year career, Withers accumulated a collection of an estimated 1.8 million photographs; his works appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The TriState Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier, Jet, Ebony, Newsweek, Life, People, and Time, and many other smaller publications.
Withers went beyond the call of a photographer by joining other members of the Black Press in persuading locals to testify against the murderers, as well smuggling those who testified out of the state following the trial to ensure that a similar fate did not befall them. Some of his most famous shots are those taken during his unparalleled coverage of the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike in 1968, the revolt which culminated in the assassination of Dr. King.
While most famous for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement, Withers is also widely recognized as providing unique content of American history in the realms of sports, music, politics, and everyday life. His powerful and personal images of figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jackie Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Elvis, and Richard Nixon, among many others, contextualize mid-century America from its heartland in a way no other photographer’s work does.
Share a moment with our founder Rosalind Withers, as she discusses never seen before images from the Withers Digital Archive.
We have recently expanded our classic Withers IQ collection, now including larger sizes. Purchase yours today.
We have recently expanded our classic Withers IQ collection, now including larger sizes. Purchase yours today.
The most holistic collection of Withers’ archive published to date, containing images from his Civil Rights, Music, Sports, and Lifestyle collections, the text of this work delves much deeper into the history behind the images than your average book of photography.
The Withers Art Project is a collaboration between the Withers Collection and the 1687 Productions to help fund the preservation of Ernest Withers’ photographs. Withers left behind over 1.8 million images. The Withers Collection mission is to preserve these historic images before they are lost.
