Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Object Details

Artist

Constantine Manos, born 1934

Sitter

Rosa Parks, 4 Feb 1913 - 24 Oct 2005

Martin Luther King Jr., 15 Jan 1929 - 4 Apr 1968

Exhibition Label

Born Tuskegee, Alabama

During the 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, members of the city’s African American community held mass meetings in local churches to exchange information, discuss strategy, and bolster morale. In this photograph, taken at one of those meetings, Rosa Parks leans forward in her front-row seat as Martin Luther King Jr. (standing with his hand on the Bible and his back to the camera) prepares to speak from the pulpit.

After the United States Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation on buses in individual states, a wave of violence and intimidation erupted in Montgomery. Snipers fired into city buses, carloads of Ku Klux Klan members menaced residents in black neighborhoods, and terrorists’ bombs destroyed five African American churches.

Nacida en Tuskegee, Alabama

Durante los 382 días que duró el boicot de autobuses en Montgomery, Alabama, los miembros de la comunidad afroamericana de la ciudad se convocaban en las iglesias para intercambiar información, discutir estrategias y elevar la moral de la gente. En esta fotografía, tomada en una de aquellas reuniones, Rosa Parks se inclina en su asiento de primera fila mientras Martin Luther King Jr. (de pie, con la mano en la Biblia, de espaldas a la cámara) se prepara para hablar desde el púlpito.

Cuando el Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos prohibió la segregación racial en los autobuses, una ola de violencia e intimidación se desató en Montgomery. Los autobuses eran atacados por francotiradores, miembros del Ku Klux Klan se paseaban en auto por los vecindarios negros para amedrentar a los residentes y cinco iglesias afroamericanas fueron destruidas por bombas terroristas.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Date

1955-56

Object number

NPG.2009.4

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

Type

Photograph

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 17.4 x 24.1cm (6 7/8 x 9 1/2")

Mat: 35.6 × 45.7cm (14 × 18")

Place

United States\Alabama\Montgomery\Montgomery

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location

Currently not on view

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Interior

Rosa Parks: Female

Rosa Parks: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist

Rosa Parks: Business and Finance\Tradesman\Textile worker\Seamstress

Rosa Parks: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom

Rosa Parks: Civilian awards\Congressional Gold Medal

Martin Luther King Jr.: Male

Martin Luther King Jr.: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\Civil rights leader

Martin Luther King Jr.: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Minister

Martin Luther King Jr.: Nobel Prize

Martin Luther King Jr.: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom

Martin Luther King Jr.: Civilian awards\Congressional Gold Medal

Portrait

Metadata Usage