Martin Luther King, Jr.

Object Details

Artist: Ernest C. Withers, 7 Aug 1922 - 15 Oct 2007
Sitter: Martin Luther King, Jr., 15 Jan 1929 - 4 Apr 1968; Ralph David Abernathy, 11 Mar 1926 - 17 Apr 1990

Exhibition Label: Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy ride the first integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama; King proved to be the ideal choice to orchestrate and sustain the Montgomery bus boycott. As a relative newcomer to Montgomery, he was able to bring together all factions of the black community without regard to past rivalries. Through inspirational addresses delivered at mass meetings in Montgomery’s black churches, King galvanized support for the boycott and clearly articulated the case for nonviolent action, declaring, "We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love; we must meet physical force with soul force." He found a strong ally in fellow Montgomery minister Ralph Abernathy, and during the course of the boycott the two men forged a strong working relationship and a deep friendship. Continuing for an unprecedented 381 days, the bus boycott ended only after the United States Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional. When the first integrated bus rolled through Montgomery on December 21, 1956, King and Abernathy sat side by side.

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution © Dr. Ernest C. Withers, Sr. courtesy of the Withers Family Trust www.witherscollection.org

1956 (printed later)

Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image: 37.7 x 45.3cm (14 13/16 x 17 13/16"); Sheet: 40.5 x 50.3cm (15 15/16 x 19 13/16"); Mat: 55.9 x 71.1cm (22 x 28")

National Portrait Gallery

Topic: Interior; Costume\Headgear\Hat; Ralph David Abernathy: Male; Ralph David Abernathy: Literature\Writer; Ralph David Abernathy: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Civil rights leader; Ralph David Abernathy: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Minister; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Male; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Civil rights leader; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Minister; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Nobel Prize; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Presidential Medal of Freedom; Martin Luther King, Jr.: Congressional Gold Medal; Portrait

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm443272611-faf1-40b3-9f44-48a7497f0c40