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The gallery below includes portraits of 20th-century African American activists of whom Prints & Photographs Division staff have been able to find images with no known restrictions on publication. This page presents individuals whose last names begin with the letters A through E, and appear in alphabetical order by the last name of the person depicted (except for Malcolm X, who appears in the "M" range). Click on an image or caption and a new browser tab will open with larger images and descriptive information about each portrait.
Warren K. Leffler, photographer. Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Washington, D.C. 1968. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Carl Van Vechten, photographer. Portrait of James Baldwin. 1955. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Carl Van Vechten, photographer. Portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune. 1949. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Warren K. Leffler, photographer. Julian Bond, member of the Georgia House of Representatives, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front. 1966. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Marion S. Trikosko, photographer. H. Rap Brown, SNCC [i.e., Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee], news conference. 1967. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
The Rotograph Co., publisher. Nannie Helen Burroughs, 1879-. Between 1900 and 1920. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Thomas J. O'Halloran, photographer. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm announcing her candidacy for presidential nomination. 1972. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Marion S. Trikosko, photographer. Eldridge Cleaver, Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party and presidential candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party speaking at the Woods-Brown Outdoor Theatre, American University. 1968. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Bernard Gotfryd, photographer. Angela Davis, half-length portrait. 1974. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
