Photograph by

Davidson, Bruce, American, born 1933

Subject of

Unidentified Child or Children

Medium

silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

Dimensions

H x W (image): 8 11/16 × 13 in. (22 × 33 cm)

H x W (sheet): 10 7/8 × 13 15/16 in. (27.7 × 35.4 cm)

Type

gelatin silver prints

Place captured

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

1965; printed ca. 2010

Description

A black and white photograph of a boy writing on a blackboard in a school classroom. The blackboard is on the wall on the left side of the image and the boy writes on bottom of the board with white chalk held high with his right hand. His left arm is bent and held to his side. He wears a light colored shirt and dark colored pants. The classroom is constructed of wooden planks and in the center of the image, a door is set crooked into the wall and labeled with a sign that reads [DOOR]. To the left of the door is a white rectangular board reading [BULLETIN] and a round clock without hands. A large desk sits in the middle of the floor with a ladder back chair set apart from it. A border depicting the letters of the alphabet, both upper case and lower case, wraps around the top of the walls, from above the blackboard on the left to the door at center. Just to the right of the door, another blackboard is partially visible, with [Alice] written at the top. On the back is an inscription with the photographer's name and several numerical notations.

Topic

African American

American South

Children

Education

Photography

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2017.26.1

Restrictions & Rights

© Bruce Davidson/ Magnum Photos. Permission required for use.

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Portfolio/Series

Time of Change

Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Issued by

United States Civil Service Commission, American, 1871 - 1979

Received by

Irby, Alice, American, 1928 - 2013

Medium

ink on paper

Dimensions

H x W: 6 1/2 × 9 1/16 in. (16.5 × 23 cm)

Type

certificates

Place depicted

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

January 29, 1966

Caption

Along with literacy tests, property or residency requirements, poll taxes were one of the methods used to prevent African Americans from voting beginning in the last quarter of the 19th century. After the Fifteenth Amendment enabled the right to vote to African Americans a number of states enacted poll tax laws as a legal method to restrict voting rights. The poll tax was especially effective in disenfranchising potential black voters since African Americans made up a disproportionate number of the poor who could not afford to pay.

Description

A poll tax certificate issued to Alice Irby of Selma, Alabama by the United States Civil Service Commission, Voting Rights Act of 1965. The page is white paper with black printed ink text and fields. The fields have been filled in by hand in blue ink. The top of the certificate reads: [United States Civil Service Commission / Voting Rights Act of 1965 / Poll Tax Payment Certificate / State of Alabama]. The certificate recognizes that Irby paid the three dollar poll tax in order to vote and is signed by John H. Craig, Examiner, U.S. Civil Service Commission on January 29, 1966. The back of the certificate is blank.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Politics (Practical)

Race discrimination

Suffrage

United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Family of Alice Irby

Object number

2017.65

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

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Classification

Documents and Published Materials-Business and Legal Documents

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Issued by

Southern Railway Company, American, 1894 - 1990

Used by

Mulholland, Joan Trumpauer, American, born 1941

Medium

ink on paper

Dimensions

H x W: 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in. (4.4 x 4.4 cm)

Type

ticket stubs

Place depicted

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Montgomery, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America

Date

March 1965

Description

A ticket stub for Washington, D.C. to Montgomery, Alabama. The ticket stub is yellowed paper with black ink and is stapled to a green slip of paper providing dates and context.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Local and regional

Transportation

United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Trumpauer-Mulholland Collection

Object number

2010.71.14

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

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National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera

Exhibition

Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968

On View

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Created by

Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003

Subject of

Unidentified Man or Men

Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium

silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

Dimensions

H x W (Image): 8 7/16 x 13 11/16 in. (21.4 x 34.7 cm)

H x W (Sheet): 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)

Type

gelatin silver prints

Place depicted

Selma, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

March 7, 1965; printed 1995

Description

A black-and-white photograph of the Selma to Montgomery march progressing over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where marchers were later attacked in an event known as Bloody Sunday.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Photography

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2011.14.18

Restrictions & Rights

© 1965 Spider Martin

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Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Created by

Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003

Subject of

Unidentified Man or Men

Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium

silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

Dimensions

H x W (Image): 10 3/16 x 13 3/4 in. (25.9 x 34.9 cm)

H x W (Sheet): 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)

Type

gelatin silver prints

Place depicted

Selma, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

1965; printed 1995

Description

A black-and-white photograph of seven white Selma residents posing around a Confederate flag. The man in the lower left corner raises his middle finger as the young man behind him laughs.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Photography

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2011.14.8

Restrictions & Rights

© 1965 Spider Martin

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Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Created by

Karales, James H., American, 1930 - 2002

Subject of

Baldwin, James, American, 1924 - 1987

Baez, Joan, American, born 1941

Medium

silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

Dimensions

H x W (Image): 4 11/16 x 6 7/8 in. (11.9 x 17.5 cm)

H x W (Sheet): 4 15/16 x 7 1/16 in. (12.5 x 17.9 cm)

Type

gelatin silver prints

portraits

Place depicted

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

1965

Description

A black-and-white photograph of James Baldwin smiling with Joan Baez standing next to him. Three other people, whose faces are not visible, appear next to and behind them.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Photography

United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2012.107.9

Restrictions & Rights

© Estate of James Karales

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Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Manufactured by

Unidentified

Used by

Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968

Rev. Abernathy, Ralph David, American, 1926 - 1990

Owned by

Jackson, Richie Jean

Dr. Jackson, Sullivan

Medium

aluminum

Dimensions

H x W x D: 8 13/16 × 13 5/8 × 14 1/16 in. (22.4 × 34.6 × 35.7 cm)

Type

pails

Place used

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

mid-20th century

Description

Galvanized aluminum pail with a volume of approximately three (3) gallons. The pail is slightly narrower at base than at lip. Three (3) ribs run around the top of the sides. The pail has a handle that can be raised and lowered. At the bottom of the interior of the pail is a raised letter [A] in the center of concentric ribs that make up the base.

Topic

African American

Civil rights

Domestic life

Families

United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2014.192

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

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Classification

Tools and Equipment-Domestic

Exhibition

Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968

On View

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Created by

Montgomery, Dabney N., American, born 1923

Subject of

Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968

Medium

rubber, wool, ink on paper, mat board, glass, metal, and paint on wood

Dimensions

H x W x D: 11 3/4 × 14 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (29.8 × 37.5 × 3.8 cm)

Type

frames (furnishings)

neckties

shoes (footwear)

address books

Place used

Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Mongtomery, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date

1965

Caption

Dabney N. Montgomery is a documented original Tuskegee airman, a 2007 recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, acting as a body guard for Martin Luther King Jr. during the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965.

Description

A black wood-framed shadowbox with two shoe heels and one burgundy knit necktie worn by Dabney N. Montgomery during the Selma to Montgomery March from March 21 to 25, 1965, and an address book containing the name and address of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others. The address book is cased in a plastic bag and is mounted to the gray mat board at the center top. Pre-printed black text for contact information is printed with four (4) contacts possible on each page. Seven (7) contacts are filled out by hand in black and blue ink, with King's at the top left page. The bottom right page pre-printed fill-in section is blank. An orange sticker with a black "1" is to the right of the book. The burgundy wool knit necktie is fastened with fishing line to the backing board at the top, middle, and bottom along the vertical left side. An orange sticker with a black "2" is to the bottom left of the tie. The black rubber shoe heels are placed side by side with the rounded back edges of the heels facing upward at the bottom right of the frame. Manufacturer information is stamped into the rubber, but is illegible because the heels are much worn. An orange sticker with a black "3" is to the right of the shoe heels. The mat board is held in place by metal pressure tabs around the back of the frame. There is no apparent hanging mechanism.

Topic

African American

Activism

Civil rights

Clothing and dress

Communities

Tuskegee Airmen

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dabney N. Montgomery, D.H.L. (Documented Original Tuskegee Airman) and Amelia A. Montgomery

Object number

2016.15

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

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National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Memorabilia and Ephemera

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture