On this day in 2007 in Memphis, Tennessee, legendary local photographer Ernest Withers passed away at the age of 85, leaving behind a nearly 60 year legacy and photos of some of the most pivotal moments in Civil Rights history.
Born on August 7, 1922 in Memphis, Withers cut his teeth in photography snapping photos while serving in the South Pacific during World War II.
From there, Withers would go on to form close friendships with the Civil Rights leaders he would immortalize in his photos, capturing key moments from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Memphis sanitation strike.
Withers’ work would go on to be featured everywhere from The New York Times to Life Magazine, and he was often the only photographer on hand during the historic moments he captured, since many of these were of little interest to the mainstream press at the time.
Withers leaves behind a massive body of work, with nearly five million photographs of celebrities from Elvis to MLK to Aretha Franklin.
