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. 

Picture - Logos

The picture displays a large protest in which African Americans are protesting and demanding different changes and rights. The picture itself displays logos because there is plenty of evidence to support why the people in picture would have reason to be protesting. The picture was taken during the 60's which was a time period in which segregation and discrimination were extremely prevalent because certain laws that aimed to outlaw those behaviors were not yet created. This fact alone, therefore, justifies and supports the woman holding up the "We demand equal rights now!" sign. The signs held up in the picture are all very direct as well. The diction used  such as "demand" and "now," and the way it is written in capital letters with an exclamation point, convey a very frustrated and stern tone. By making the signs so direct and to the point, the protesters ensure that nothing gets lost in translation, and their needs are stated as clearly as possible.

Newspaper Article - Audience

The audience for the newspaper is the general public of the 1960's. By nature, a newspaper is an article that is written to inform the public in a general, unbiased manner. Because of this newspaper editors and writers often write their columns in a manner that appeals to everyone and not just one specific audience. The title in it of itself lacks a lot of emotion, it is made to be strictly informative as it reads "President Signs Rights Bill Into Law." The headline is brief and straight to the point as not a single word is meant to add excitement to the title. Many modern day articles do have very descriptive and interesting headlines as to grab the reader's attention off of a quick glance, but for this article you must take the time period into consideration. In the 1960's television was just starting to catch its stride and it was not nearly as big as it is now, so many people did not even own televisions so they had to get their news from newspapers. Now, many households have a television so newspaper have become less valuable and their purpose has therefore shifted from informative to entertaining, and their headlines have changed accordingly.

The photograph of the protest is a snapshot of the Civil Rights Movement and effectively displays the pathos that was needed to bring about change. On almost every one of the hundreds of signs the protestors made use of, their message begins with either "We March For..." or "We Demand..." and is followed with a plea for basic human rights. The pathos of this comes from the sadness these signs make us onlookers feel, as these African-Americans have to fight tirelessly just for what they deserve as people on this Earth. None of the messages on the signs or outlandish, demanding things only like equal rights, an end for bias, and decent housing. All they want is their fair shake of things, which has been stripped from them by centuries of oppression. What they don't want, which sets the pathos used in this photograph apart from most traditional examples, is pity. They demand action and are not merely asking for it. This refusal to show weakness and backdown is arguably what ended up making the Civil Rights Movement so successful.

Pathos in Newspaper article

The article uses pathos in a way that evokes a sense of pride in the people who fought for the passing of the civil rights bill. The newspaper heading uses the word "hatred" which refers to the hate among races in America during the 1960's. The article comments on how it was a hard fight fought to get leaders to accept the bill into law. It was said to be the "nation's strongest civil right's act" and this was despite having the bill being watered down to please many people opposing the bill. The nation was urged to be restraint because despite having leaders vote on the bill, many people were still against it and did not want to conform to what the law stated. President Johnson was quoted in the article"'...lay aside irrelevant differences and make our nation whole'", this quote adds to a sense of sincerity and hope. By those words President Johnson seemed like he was for the bill and signed the bill because he change for the better. The bill was suppose to be a victory for America, used to unite all races. The article made the passing of the bill seem like a long fought battle that was finally over.

Audience Analysis of Civil Rights Amendment Protest Photo

I believe that the audience of this photo is anyone who was still on the fence about the adaptation of the Civil Rights Act, including members of Congress. The Civil Rights Act was essentially a watershed moment for equality, coming at a time when the division between various races, age groups, ideologies was quite high. I believe this photo to be influential because it clearly strives to demonstrate how many people were protesting, and the rigor to which they did so. This article provides an excellent overview of the CRA. It was initially proposed under Kennedy, but was put on hold as Southern Democrats viciously sought to prevent it from becoming law. I think the photograph appeals to a broad audience by being zoomed out so we see the overarching movement rather than just one protester. As we discussed in class, when trying to capture the emotion of an event it is often best to have one action that summarizes an entire point, such as this photo summarizing police brutality in the 1960’s. This photo on the other hand seeks not to summarize a movement but to speak to the scope and gravity of the protest, as a mass protest rather than a few people. The photo is taken from the very front, and seems to stretch on endlessly, perhaps a metaphor for how tirelessly these people had worked for equality. An outside observer would immediately notice the extreme large number of people, and their clearly worded signage, and feel at the very least sympathetic towards this group. Overall, I feel the photograph does an excellent job of appealing to a broad audience by showing the mass of people, but also being intimate enough to see the expressions and signs of those protesting.