I AM A MAN: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960–1970

The 1960­–1970 decade was a momentous time for the civil rights movement in the American South. It was an historic decade that unleashed both hope for the future and profound change as public spaces were desegregated and as African Americans secured their right to vote.

I AM A MAN: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960–1970 displays a wide range of photographs taken by amateurs, local photojournalists, and internationally known photographers. Together, they provide a vivid visual story of the evolution of the civil rights movement and shed light on the movement’s integration in the daily living in the American South.

Inspired by the voice of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., thousands of courageous people risked their lives to end Jim Crow segregation, and photographs were made in the midst of often-dangerous confrontations. The exhibition takes its name, “I AM A MAN” from the slogan of the sanitation workers’ strike Martin Luther King, Jr., was supposed to lead the day after he was assassinated fifty years ago. Dr. King and other civil rights leaders relied on the power of photographs to persuade and to motivate change during the civil rights movement.

Southern folklorist, author, and curator William Ferris and his research team sought out photos taken in the heat of the civil rights movement, by activists or local news photographers, who documented history taking place before their eyes. Viewers of the exhibition will recognize the photographs of protestors who carried signs with messages like “I Am A Man” or sat at segregated lunch counters as iconic images associated with the movement, while numerous other photographs presented in the exhibition have rarely been seen until now. Key events include James Meredith’s admission to the University of Mississippi, Ku Klux Klan gatherings, the Selma Montgomery March in Alabama, the sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, Martin Luther King’s funeral, the Poor People’s Campaign, and the Mule Train.

Within the history of photography, images of the civil rights movement mark a special body of work. Like the fabled music and narratives of the American South, photographs bear witness to the region’s past, to its people, and to the places that shaped their lives. The photographs featured in the exhibition are vessels of truth—truth about the courage of protestors who faced unimaginable violence and brutality with the quiet determination of elders and the angry commitment of the young. Even though the photographs were taken fifty years ago, they remain relevant today. They remind us of the brave sacrifices that were made to secure the enforcement of civil rights for African Americans.

The decade was a pivotal moment that both marks change, and also reminds us how far we have to go. The photographs in I AM A MAN: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960–1970 remind us of their enduring resonance today and beyond as future generations continue to fight for justice for all humankind.

This exhibition has been adapted from an exhibition, originally produced for the Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier, France, by the Center for Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The French exhibition was funded by the City of Montpellier and administered by Gilles Mora, director of the Pavillion Populaire.

About the Curator
William Reynolds Ferris was born and raised in an anti-segregationist family on a farm in Mississippi. He taught as assistant professor in the English Department at Jackson State University (1970–72), associate professor in the Afro-American and American Studies Programs at Yale University (1972–79), professor of anthropology and founding director of the Center for Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi (1979–97), and as professor of history and Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2002–17), where he is now the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History Emeritus. The former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1997–2001), Ferris co-edited the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. In 2019, his Voices of Mississippi project received two GRAMMY Awards. Other honors include the Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, the American Library Association’s Dartmouth Medal, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, the W.C. Handy Blues Award, and the Mississippi Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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Tour Schedule

I AM A MAN: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960–1970 will tour January 2022 through January 2027. The dates below reflect seven-week exhibition periods. Dates are subject to change; please contact MoreArt@maaa.org or (800) 473-3872 x208/209 for current availability.

  • January 28–March 16, 2022 Irving Archives and Museum
    Irving, TX     booked
  • April 6–May 25, 2022 Sand Springs Cultural & Historical Museum
    Sand Springs, OK     booked
  • June 16–August 11, 2022 University of Georgia
    Athens, GA     booked
  • September 1–October 20, 2022 Kansas African American History Museum
    Wichita, KS     booked
  • November 10, 2022–January 7, 2023 Black Archives at Mid-America in Kansas City
    Kansas City, MO     booked
  • January 28–March 16, 2023 University of Tennessee at Martin
    Martin, TN     booked
  • April 6–May 25, 2023 Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center
    Portsmouth, VA     booked
  • June 16–August 11, 2023 Civil War Museum
    Kenosha, WI     booked
  • September 1–October 20, 2023 Longwood Center for the Visual Arts
    Farmville, VA     booked
  • November 10, 2023–January 7, 2024 Maryland Hall
    Annapolis, MD     booked
  • January 28–March 16, 2024 Louisiana Old State Capitol
    Baton Rouge, LA     booked
  • April 6–May 25, 2024 Refurbishment
    Kansas City, MO     booked
  • June 16–August 11, 2024 Hastings Museum of Natural History & Culture
    Hastings, NE     booked
  • September 1–October 20, 2024 Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum
    Monroe, LA     pending
  • November 10, 2024–January 7, 2025 Texas A&M University-Commerce Art Building
    Commerce, TX     available
  • January 28–March 16, 2025 Temecula Valley Musem
    Temecula, CA     booked
  • April 6–May 25, 2025 Historical Society of Saginaw County
    Saginaw, MI     booked
  • June 16–August 11, 2025
    available
  • September 1–October 20, 2025
    available
  • November 10, 2025–January 7, 2026
    available
  • January 28–March 16, 2026 Museum and Cultural Center at 5ive Points
    Cleveland, TN     booked
  • April 6–May 25, 2026
    available
  • June 16–August 11, 2026 Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum
    Temple, TX     booked
  • September 1–October 20, 2026
    available
  • November 10, 2026–January 7, 2027
    available

Exhibition Details

47 photographs plus a film and a small amount of ephemera

  • Content

    Fee Includes
    Press Kit
    Registrar’s Packet
    Programming Guide
    Gallery Guide
    Text Panels
    Narrative Labels
    Full Insurance
    Installation Instructions
    Custom-Designed and Built Crates

  • Curated By

    William Reynolds Ferris, the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History Emeritus, University of North Carolina

  • Organized By

    Center for Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • Out-of-Region Rental Fee

    $7,950

  • In-Region Rental Fee

    $4,770

  • Duration

    seven-week display

  • Shipping

    Van Line

  • Running Feet

    165 linear feet estimated

  • Square Feet

    -

  • Security

    Moderate B

  • Number of Crates/Total Weight

    five crates estimated/TBD

  • Insurance

    The exhibition is fully insured by ExhibitsUSA at no additional expense to you, both while installed and during transit.

Downloads & Resources

Click HERE to view and download the Factsheet for I AM A MAN: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960–1970.