1960s Black Civil Rights Leaders Photo Archive including Thurgood Marshall

Archive of four original silver gelatin print press photographs of 1960s African Americans active in politics. Photos all around 9" x 8" inches. This archive showcases a range of figures: Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Aaron Henry of the Mississippi NAACP, and members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. This collection of characters represent African Americans who sought to increase their political power through official channels. The earliest photo is of Thurgood Marshall at a NAACP event receiving a donation to the organization's Legal Defense Fund from four women belonging to a group called the "Society of Service." A 1968 photo depicts Dr. Aaron Henry, (truncated) state chairman of the Mississippi NAACP, and his associate Jack Young of the NAACP testifying before the Democratic National Convention's Credentials Committee. A photo from 1967 captures Thurgood Marshall's son, Thurgood Jr., Mrs. Marshall, and his youngest son, John, "on hand to see Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall take his seat on the court for the first time". They are dressed in exquisite attire, as conveyed through Mrs. Marshall's leopard collar and purse and her sons' suits and ties. Finally, a delegation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), a political party and pressure group that sought to break up the stranglehold of the Democratic Party on Mississippi politics, is depicted occupying their rival's seats at the Democratic Convention in 1968. At the time, the Mississippi Democratic Party did not even allow African-Americans to participate in the party. The MFDP was one of the most important groups to emerge at the tail end of the fractious "Dixiecrat" alliance in American politics and represented the yearning for change in the South. These original press photo taken by photojournalist within tight timeframe for the benefit of particular editorial board and with the aim of usage by the press to illustrate an article often affected public opinion in the nation. Overall this archive is in very good condition. (Inventory #: 17584)