Throughout the Civil Rights era, Ernest C. Withers' prominent lens chronicled black life in the South along with many of the horrors and heroism of the civil rights movement to the world.
He captured the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He documented the trial of the un-convicted murderers of 11-year-old Emmett Till. He was there during the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike — with his famous "I Am a Man" images — that led to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. He also covered Negro League baseball players and now-legendary local musicians.
On February 9, LeMoyne-Owen College held a symposium to honor the life and work of Withers. The Ernest C. Withers Historical Photographic Foundation sponsored the event. State Rep. Joe Towns, D-Tenn., moderated a panel of speakers.
“It’s so important that we educate young African-American kids to the real history. And that one picture “I Am a Man” encapsulated what the Civil Rights Movement was about. I am a human being and we want to be treated like human beings. It’s all over the world ... thanks to the Withers family,” said Towns.
“I Am a Man” is Withers' most notable and recognizable work. The violence of the images reshaped the movement. The shots drew international pressure and condemnation.
"I got hit by police myself that day," said Withers’ son Andrew “Rome” Withers, who is also a photographer. "I was 12-years-old and I got maced in the eyes."
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An exhibit of Withers' photographs was on display in the student center at LeMoyne-Owen College during the symposium.
Along with Withers’ son, the symposium featured Wovoka Sobukwe, owner of the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom School & Culture Center; educator Pam Ali; artist and activist Mary Mudiku; and professor A.J. Stovall, chair of the Department of Social Science at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
A historical marker was unveiled at the late photographers’ home the following day. Withers died in 2007 at the age of 85. The home sits in a Historic District at the 400 block of West Brooks Road in the Walker Estates community. Withers and wife, Dorothy, raised their eight children there. In 2016, the Memphis City Council approved the home for historic preservation.
"About a third of Graceland's visitors come from outside Memphis, and most of them know better than the average Memphian how wide the impact is of Memphis culture," Soden said. "Ernest Withers is a part of that," said Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, during the unveiling.
Dozens of local leaders were on hand along with historians, friends, activists and Withers’ family. They gathered under a tent on the rain-soaked southwest Memphis lawn to reflect on the celebrated cameraman.
In addition to his work as a photographer, his career in law enforcement was mentioned at the dedication ceremony. Along with nine other African-Americans, he joined the Memphis Police Department in 1948. The hiring paved the way for future officers of color. It’s also an early example of a police force becoming more reflective of the community they serve.
"Without the work of men like Ernest Withers, men like me might not have been afforded the opportunities that I have been afforded," said Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings. "That's what trailblazers do. They lay a path for others to follow, even though they don't know who those others will be."
Retired MPD officer Jerry Williams was Withers’ friend. He was among the original nine African-American officers hired by the MPD.
"Nobody knows how hard it was in those days," said Williams. "We were told where we could patrol, who we could arrest .... It was a hard time. But he was a friend who did what he could for his family,” said Williams.
The 91-year-old also defended Withers against recent allegations that he was an FBI inside man during the civil rights era.
"He was not an informant," referring to records indicating Withers led a double life using his photos as tipoffs. "He was a good guy."
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