Photo Ethos
In order to understand this photograph, one must understand some basic elements underlying the protest. Congress did not pass a single Civil Rights Amendment from Reconstruction until the 1960's. After the 14th Amendment was passed, some unfortunately assumed that the law was equal and that there was little work left to do. The Civil Rights Act was first proposed in 1963 under Kennedy, and was undertaken by Lyndon B. Johnson as a major focal point of his administration. Of course the act was met with a lot of opposition especially in the South where racism and segregation was a way of life. Some of the inequalities seen in the protest signs are housing and an end to general "bias". There are also signs for the Baptist Ministers, as religion played a huge role in Civil Rights as an effective motivator. This photo in particular comes from the March on Washington which focused on economic inequality and was attended by roughly 250,000 people. Finally, this march is also where MLK delivered his "I have a dream speech", making this protest entrenched in history forever. Overall, in order to understand the photo, one must understand the background of the Equal Rights Amendment and why people fought so fervently for their rights.
Religion actually played an essential role in the civil rights movement that many people don't usually take into account. Many of the ideologies on peaceful protests and nonviolence stemmed from preacher's sermons.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that that historical context can shed light on the credibility of a photo. Without in-depth knowledge of the civil rights movement and the frustrations leading up to it, this photo may not seem as convincing and even diminish in value. However, I think the way in which the photo was taken establishes a credibility on its own. By capturing the vast crowd of people that have been so deeply moved to act, the photographer provides a justification for the protest.
ReplyDelete~Eva
At first glance I believe it would be difficult to analyze the ethos presented in the photo above, considering that we do not know each individual's story. However, we can assume that because each person is present at the march that they each have a personal connection to this issue, and that alone gives them some credibility to speak on behalf of it.
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