Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital slr-2009.

I Am A Man, Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tennessee

Artist Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922-2007)

CultureAmerican

DateMarch 28th, 1968

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 10 15/16 × 18 13/16 in. (27.8 × 47.8 cm)
Overall: 16 × 19 3/4 in. (40.6 × 50.2 cm)
Overall, Mat: 21 11/16 × 26 in. (55.1 × 66 cm)

Inscribedsigned and titled in pencil with edition number on print verso

Credit LinePurchase in Memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, and the Art Purchase Fund

Object number97.21.1

Not on view

DescriptionA large group of individuals gathering in the streets carrying protest signs that say, "I AM A MAN" . Ernest Withers was the only photographer to document the Civil Rights Movement from beginning to end. This portfolio provides a basic representation of his work during those years. These images were used to influence the opinions of the President, Congress, and the general public.

Label TextErnest C. Withers American (b. 1922) I Am A Man, Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tennessee, March 28, 1968 Gelatin-silver print, 1994 Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Museum purchase in memory of Alice R and Sol B. Frank 97.21.1 Exhibition History"Appeal to this Age: Photography of the Civil Rights Movement", The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va. December 21, 1996 - March 2, 1997. "Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Museum Collection", The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va. February 6 - May 31, 1998. "Civil Rights Photography," Newseum, Arlington, Virginia, January 8 - April 30, 2001. "History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001. "Portraying a Nation: American Portrait Photography, 1850-2010," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, August 25, 2010 - September 11, 2011. "By Popular Demand: Your Selections, Your Gallery," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, May 10 - August 31, 2014.Published ReferencesSteven Kasher. _The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, 1954-68_. New York: Abeville Press Publishers, 1996 228-229. Brooks Johnson, _Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on Their Art_. New York: Aperture Foundation, 2004, 224-225.