Ernest Columbus Withers (1922 – 2007) was a freelance photojournalist in Memphis, Tennessee, and captured nearly sixty years of African American and cultural history. Dr. Withers photographed the Southern Civil Rights movement, forming close relationships with leaders like Medgar Evers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ambassador Andrew Young, and James Meredith. He photographed key events, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike. His body of work includes Negro League baseball players such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige; and musical legends B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Ike and Tina Turner, just to name a few.
Over six decades, Dr. Withers accumulated a collection of an estimated 1.8 million images. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Jet, Ebony, Life, People, Time, The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., and many other acclaimed institutions and publications.
2022 marked the centennial of Dr. Withers’ work, and his legacy still lives.
We are proud to present a portion of Dr. Withers’ iconic work here at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
– Withers Museum & Gallery
This exhibition is presented as a part of Voices of Courage and Justice, honoring the 60th anniversary of Medgar Evers’ assassination.
All photos are shown courtesy of the Withers Family Trust.
