Photographed by Scott Wolff. Scanned from a slide. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Ralph Abernathy

Artist Walter Fischer

CultureAustrian

DateMay 26, 1963

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 10 1/16 × 8 1/16 in. (25.6 × 20.5 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 19 15/16 in. (40.6 × 50.6 cm)

InscribedBlack ink stamps on back:; Walter Fischer; 7120 Lexington Ave.; Hollywood 46, Calif.; Photos by Walter Fischer; ; Red ink stamp:; Presse-Agentur; L. Dukas; FI 13; Bellerivestrasse 30a; Zurich 8/ Tel. 34 55 90; ; Written in ink marker: 7.; Written in pencil: 76

Credit LinePurchase, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Paul Mansheim and in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number2002.11.4

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print of Ralph Abernathy.

Label TextWalter Fischer Austrian (active 1960s) Ralph Abernathy, May 26, 1963 Gelatin-silver print Museum purchase, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Paul Mansheim and in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2002.11.4 Walter Fischer was an Austrian photographer who made these photographs to accompany an interview by the journalist Marika Aba. This photograph was made at the Rally for Freedom held in Los Angeles on May 26, 1963. The purpose of this rally, held shortly after Martin Luther King, Jr. was released from the Birmingham jail, was to raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Specifically, it was to aid the organization in meeting the cost of bail and appeal bonds. Approximately 30,000 people attended and over a quarter of a million dollars were raised. Among those attending were Mel Ferrer, Sammy Davis, Jr., Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Rita Moreno, and Tony Franciosa. Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990) was a Baptist minister and a major American civil-rights leader. He helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955); was treasurer, vice president, and after King's assassination (1968), president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). After King's death, he led the Poor People's Campaign on Washington, D.C. Edited By: DS Edited Date: 2006 Approved By: DS Approval Date: 01/31/2007ProvenanceGalerie Clairefontaine, Luxembourg; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Paul Mansheim and in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, 2002. Published ReferencesThis is part of a larger photo story that accompanied an interview by the journalist Marika Aba, and was intended for European publications. Check registration file for transcript.