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Newseum
Black and White: Images From the Civil Rights Movement
With Cissy Anklam
Chief Curator
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2001; 3 p.m. EST

"Black and White: Images From the Civil Rights Movement," a new exhibit being shown at the Newseum in Arlington, Va., displays a sample of photographs that emerged from the 1960s. The images chronicle the key moments of the civil rights movement and produce a gripping record of the struggle for equality.

Cissy Anklam, chief curator and director of exhibits for the Newseum, will be online to discuss "Black and White," the photojournalists behind the images and the Newseum.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Washington, D.C.: How many photos are on display? Are they all one photographer?

Cissy Anklam: There are 30 photos in the exhibit. They are by 10 different photographers that covered the civil rights movement. Some were professional photographers, some were photojournalist working for the media, there is one amature photographer represented, and others that worked for the various civil right organizations.

Austin, Tex.: Is this exhibit part of black history month? If so, what else are you doing to support black history month at the museum?

Cissy Anklam: Yes it is part of our public programing for Black History Month. In addition to the exhibits, we have programs every weekend and three times during the week all centered around Black History Month. It would be best to check our web site for further details and the schedule. WWW.Newseum.org
Ben Fernadez, Ernest Withers, John Sengstacke are just a few of the photographers that will be doing programs during the run of the exhibit.

Del Ray, Va.: What sort of response have you been getting from people? (Are people shocked? Proud?) About how many people have seen the show?

Cissy Anklam: Very positive responses for the most part. One viewer wrote that her reminder of the painful time, but also she felt pride for what was accomplished as a result of the movement.
They are very powerful photographs that should remind us all about fighting for the simple things such as being allowed to eat at the lunch counter of your choice, being allowed to attend the universisty of your choice and of having the right to vote.

Somewhere, USA: Who funds the Newseum? Is it the government? Private donors? Ted Koppel?

Cissy Anklam: The Newseum if funded by the Freedom Forum a non-partisan internations foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.

Clinton, Miss.: Which of the photos do you think is the most important one?

Cissy Anklam: Wow, that is a hard one. I suppose I would vote for the Charles Moore photo of the fireman in Brimingham using the fire hoses against peaceful protestors. It is one of those images that is seared in the American Memory. It is a photo that galvanized a country to push even harder for equal rights for all Americans. I have to admit though I have about 10 favorites in the exhibit.

Alexandria, Va.: Can you tell us about the photographers behind the pictures? Were they in as much danger as the protesters?

Cissy Anklam: Yes, that is what the exhibit is about really, the photographers behind the photos, how they got the picture and what they had to go through to get them. They were often times jailed and beaten. One photo in the exhibit shows a black photographer from SNCC being arrested. Police are dragging him away, and trying to destroy his camera as a fellow photographer is holding on to his leg and trying to pull him back away from the police. These photographers could not have gotten the picture they did if they hadn't gotten in harms way, with the camera as their only weapon

Photographer in D.C.: Which amateur photographer is represented? What is the photo of?

Cissy Anklam: Charmian Reading, was a housewife in NY would after seeing some of Charles Moores photographs in Life Magazine couldn't help but get involved in the movement so she took several trips down south and photographed what she saw and experience. Her photo in the exhibit is of a pregnant woman with her mother and cousin in a tent. They had tried to register to vote so were kicked off the land and out of the house where they lived and share cropped. The pregnant woman died four days later from excessive bleeding during child birth. The only hospital near by would not accept her because she was black.
Charmian Reading is now a professional photographer in NY

Jackson, Miss.: What is the story behind the picture of the young woman who is about to give birth but is far from the hospital?

Cissy Anklam: I have just answered that question. Please let me know if you need any more information

Arlington, Va.: Were these photographers white or black? Were white photojournailists treated differently than black photojournalists?

Cissy Anklam: Yes all the photos selected for this exhibit are in Black and White. Interesting question about the race of the photojournalist. In some cases, such as Ernest Withers, in the earliest days of the southern civil rights movement, he was able to get closer and better access because he was a black photographer from Memphis. This worked to the advantage of several other black photographers as well. And it is important to remember that in the beginning it really was only the black press that was covering the movement. It really wasn't until the photograph of Emit Till in his open casket was released that the genral public became truely aware of the brutality of the racial situation in the deep south. The Emit Till trial was when the mainstream press really began to seriously cover the civil rights movement

Washington, D.C.: Just wanted to say that I loved the pictures. I brought my sons along to show them what my parents went through to get us where we are today. Thank you.

Cissy Anklam: thanks you so much for comment. the point is really to never forget what the country went through.

Arlington, Va.: Have you ever done an exhibit on combat journalists in WWII? Could you reccomend any books or videos about the subject to me?

Cissy Anklam: Yes, our next exhibit which open May 18th is on War Correspondents, but not just from WWII. Books I have enjoyed are; My fogotten war I miss it so. Under Fire: the story of American War correspondents; Women who wrote the war. Shooting War, there is a whole series called Reporting War that begins with WWI up to the vietnam war.

Washington, D.C.: I read that you are moving into the district. When and where will you be located?

Cissy Anklam: Yes we are moving. The architects and exhibit teams are still in the planning stages. We take possesion of the property at 6th and Penn. Ave on July 1. The old building has to be demolished, the new one designed and built. We will probably open early 2005. But until the new building is designed it is hard to fix an exact date. So don't forget that we are still here in Arlington, still doing great things, so please visit.

Arlington, Va.: How is this exhibit set up? Are the stories behind the photographs there for us to read? It sounds very powerful.

Dan

Cissy Anklam: The exhibit is located in our News Globe Gallery and displayed so that each photograph can be experienced up close. I have to admit I think it is a pretty prowerful exhibit. And the photographers quotes, exhibit text and the stories behind the photos make that happen

Arlington, Va. Again: Did the white photographers have any advantages (such as not being a target of race discrimination). I never thought about the fact that being black might actually help get close to the story. Very interesting.

Cissy Anklam: I think that once the mainstream press was covering the story, they may have had some advantage for a while, just because of the proliferation and circulation of the publications for which they worked. I find it interesting too, that one of the most important of the civil rights photographers was a souther white male. He knew the culture as it was, and that was just the way things were, then he saw the violence and the whole story changed for him. The violence made him so angry that he couldn't stop shooting. And he would get in very dangerous situations to be sure he captured the moment, the action. I am speaking of Charles Moore.

Somewhere, USA: Has the show gone as well as you expected? What sort of attendance does the Newseum recieve each year?

Cissy Anklam: Our attendance has recently escalated. We have been open for only three years, but the visitors responses have been very positive so the word of mouth has spread and the audiences have grown. We have over 8,000 visitors on the weekend. The Pulitzer Prize Photography exhibit and the Black and White exhibit have done a lot to build the audience.

Washington, D.C.: The Newseum is moving to the old DC employment services building on Penn. Ave. Are you going to preserve the historic WPA murals and tile floors depicting Washington DC history?

Cissy Anklam: I believe our planning team is looking into that as we email.

Oxford, Miss.:Hey mom, I was wondering if the show was going as well as you had hoped?

Cissy Anklam: Thanks, yes it is going better than I expected. We had a great team working on it, and the photographs really seem to speak to people memories and ideas about the Civil Rights Movement. I believe the public likes to be reminded or powerful and courageous times. One of the pictures is of the riots at Ole Miss.

West Coast, USA: I will not have a chance to go to Virginia to see the exhibit. Is there an online exhibit or perhaps a touring show scheduled?

Cissy Anklam: We are considering the possiblity of touring the exhibit. The photos in our exhibit come from a collection at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk VA. They currently have a traveling exhibit of Ernest Withers photographs. You may want to contact them to see what that schedule is. We would love to travel this exhibit, but at this time there is no definate schedule.

Richmond, Va.: Have you had anyone upset by the exibit or mad?

Cissy Anklam: Oh definately. I was on C-span recently talking about the exhibit and there were a few angry callers.

Washington, D.C.: I have always wanted to know this. What is the Freedom Forum? I know they own the Newseum... but what else do they do?

Thanks for taking questions

Cissy Anklam: the Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan international foundation dedicate to all the First Amendments. In addition to the Newseum, they also operate the First Amendment Center in New York and Nashville. There are international offices and programs in London, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and Cocoa Beach, FLA.

Somewhere, USA: Perhaps a bit off topic, but who designed the Newseum and what was the idea behnind the design? (specifically the odd dome protrusion)

Cissy Anklam: The orginal exhibit was designed by Ralph Applebaum. I wasn't here at that time, but the Big Idea behind the design, was the "story behind the news"

washingtonpost.com: What new exhibits will you be bringing to the Newseum in the future?

Cissy Anklam: The War Correspondence Exhibit will open in May
We will also have an exhibition on the new Pulitzer Prize winners in May. We are in the very beginning stages of developing an exhibit about how journalist are protrayed in film and tv - a reality vs fiction kinda of idea. But that could change as we do more research and refine our ideas and the message, not to mention what we are able to find for artifacts.

washingtonpost.com: Why were people upset by the exhibit?

Cissy Anklam: The callers felt like to much attention was given to Black History month. In fact one caller didn't seem to believe that the events didn't really happen the way that they were depicted. One caller in particular was upset out the emphasis place on Martin Luther King as a hero.

Harrisonburg, Va.: How does one become a curator? Seems like a great job.

Cissy Anklam: Interesting question. The word curate orginated from taking care of (curating) a collection of things. In the sense of the public museums it has come to refer most often to curating a specific collection of artifacts or objects. Curators for the most part have a liberal arts background, usually specializing in art history, history, science or other specific fields of interest. You usually become a curator by working in musuem.

WDC: I will go see the exhibit. Thank you.

Cissy Anklam: Thanks, then my work is done. :)
On this wonderful note I will end the session and thank you very much for your great question and the opportunity to talk about the exhibit.

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