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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the midst at the March on Washington

Date
1963, printed c.1970
Classification
Photographs
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 11 1/8 × 17 1/8 in. (28.3 × 43.5 cm)
sheet: 11 1/8 × 17 1/8 in. (28.3 × 43.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Johnson Publishing Company
Rights
© Johnson Publishing Co., Inc.
Object Number
397:1991
NOTES
In the center of this photograph, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads thousands of marchers, stretching as far as the eye can see. With his arms raised and hands clasped with prominent civil rights leaders, King energetically leads the participants forward. On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Gathering near the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Over 3,000 members of the press, including Moneta Sleet Jr., were in attendance to cover it.

Sleet is one of the most recognized photojournalists of the civil rights movement. He developed a close relationship with Dr. King and photographed him numerous times throughout the 1950s and ’60s, including King’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and his leadership of the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965.

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