Friday, November 04, 2011

Joanne Bland- civil rights pioneer




Joanne Bland was an eleven-year-old civil rights marcher in Selma, Alabama, when she, along with hundreds of others, was beaten and jailed by Alabama state troopers while crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge in 1965, in what has come to be known to history as "Bloody Sunday."

She has remained an activist, and is co-founder of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma.

These portraits were made in Washington, DC, where she spoke to the students and supporters of Operation Understanding DC. She spoke of her work, hopes, and of passing on the legacy of courageous activism for human dignity. She has met in Selma with over 400 OUDC participants over the past seventeen years, sharing her story and the continuing history of struggle for justice and fairness for all.

2 comments:

  1. May I please use the first photo for a blog I have?

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  2. Please send me the blog URL, and contact me at my email: lloydwolf@lloydwolf.com
    so I can see if it is an appropriate use of the image, especially at no charge (I assume you are asking for free use- Understand I make my full living as a photographer. It is my only source of income). Thank you for checking in though, and I look forward to hearing from you & easily working something out.

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