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First day of Memphis integration, TN

African American Museum

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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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    Object Details

    Created by

    Dr. Ernest C. Withers, American, 1922 - 2007

    Subject of

    Menelik Chiremba Fombi, American, born 1955
    Harry Williams, American
    Dwania Kyles, American
    Unidentified Woman or Women

    Caption

    These students, Michael Willis (now Menelik Fombi), Harry Williams, and Dwania Kyles, were three of the "Memphis 13," the group of thirteen first-graders who integrated four Memphis elementary schools on October 3, 1961. Willis, Williams and Kyles are pictured here on their way to Bruce Elementary School.

    Description

    Three children, Michael Willis (now Menelik Fombi), Harry Williams, and Dwania Kyles, smile from a car window on their way to school as a woman, left, looks on.

    Credit Line

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

    Date

    1961

    Object number

    2009.16.18

    Restrictions & Rights

    © Ernest C. Withers Trust
    Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    gelatin silver prints
    portraits

    Medium

    silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper

    Dimensions

    H x W (Sheet): 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
    H x W (Image): 14 1/4 × 18 in. (36.2 × 45.7 cm)

    Place depicted

    Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Photographs and Still Images

    Movement

    Civil Rights Movement

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Children
    Civil Rights
    Education
    Photography
    U.S. History, 1953-1961

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a5a80e7b-85ce-484c-a217-46cf25523dd7

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2009.16.18

    Discover More

    Greetings from Tennessee 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Tennessee

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