Photographic transparency of the Poor People's Campaign

Object Details

Photograph by: Robert Houston, American, 1935 - 2021
Subject of: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968; Unidentified Man or Men; Black Star, American, founded 1935

Caption: This slide is part of a collection of 35mm slides encapsulating Robert Houston's full portfolio of images related to the Poor People's Campaign and the antipoverty protest camp on the National Mall. Known as "Resurrection City," the camp lasted for six weeks in the spring of 1968.
Description: This photographic transparency depicts a yellow school bus parked by the curb with five men's heads protruding from side windows and one man emerging from the door. The photograph is taken from the rear right side of the bus, looking towards the front. There are two hand-made signs taped to the bus’s side, both handwritten on white paper. One, in black letters, reads "NEWARK, N.J. / VAN-GUARD/ POOR PEOPLES/ CAMPAIGN." The other sign, written in red ink reads “NEWARK, NJ." Painted in black and white script by the door's lower corner is the bus company's logo that reads "Mer (?)enthal (?)rs/ Bus Service." Five men lean out the upper half of five bus windows, looking over their right shoulders towards the viewer. Two of the men wear flat caps, and all five men wear over shirts or jackets in shades of khaki or dark blue. A sixth man in a dark blue jacket stands in the bus's open door. With the transparency was a protective plastic sleeve with a sticker on the upper left corner with both handwritten and stamped text.

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

May 21, 1968 - June 23, 1968

Restrictions & Rights: © Robert Houston; Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Place depicted: National Mall, Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Photographs and Still Images
Movement: African American - Latinx Solidarity; Poor People's Campaign

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic: African American; Activism; Civil Rights; Housing; Local and regional; Photography; Politics; Poverty; U.S. History, 1961-1969

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd54d9df1f0-4def-4111-b5a0-e5ba6bdd642a