African American Activists of the 20th Century: Selected Pictures
This resource guide includes images, primarily portraits, of Black American civil rights activists active in the twentieth century. All selected images are from the Prints & Photographs Division and have no known restrictions on publication.
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Author:
Staff from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division
Editor:
Melissa Lindberg Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division
Note: This guide is adapted from "Images of 20th Century African American Activists: A Select List," previously available on the Prints & Photographs Reading Room website.
Created: July 2019
Last Updated: May 2020
Introduction
This guide includes portraits of individuals frequently requested by researchers for whom staff have been able to find images in the Prints and Photographs Division's collections. All of these images have "no known restrictions," meaning that there are no donor restrictions and, as far as we can tell based on the date and/or the source, there are no copyright restrictions that affect their use.
The images appear in alphabetical order by the last name of the person depicted. Clicking on an image or caption will open a new browser window tab to a larger image and the full online record for more information. Regrettably, not all deserving activists (including Medgar Evers, who appeared in an earlier version of this guide) are represented in our collections with a rights-free image.