Two original press photographs depicting protests during the Civil Rights Movement

N.p.: N.p., 1966. Two vintage press photographs relating to Civil Rights protests, including one showing Florida A&M University (FAMU) student protesters in the days leading up to the important "Tallahassee Rape Case," and one showing police arresting a young woman during a protest in Long Island. One photograph with a May 5, 1959, date stamp and a newspaper clipping on the verso, and one with a printed mimeo snipe dated July 29, 1966.

The first photograph, taken in Florida in early May of 1959, shows FAMU students protesting the kidnapping and rape of a Black student by four white men. The protests drew widespread media attention, and this, combined with threats of University boycotts, led to the assailants being brought to trial days later, on May 6, 1959. The men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison-a landmark decision for Florida, which had up to that point failed to prosecute white sexual violence against Black women. Many of the students at the protest would go on to participate in the sit-ins in the spring of the following year.

Taken in the predominantly Black, Long Island neighborhood of North Amityville, the second photograph captures the aftermath of a protest on the night of July 28, 1966. The conflict followed a previous protest against police aggression and lack of adequate housing and job resources in the early weeks of July, during which a crowd of 400 residents attacked police officers. The meeting on July 28 was evidently planned by the County Police Commissioner to dampen community tension, but quickly erupted into violence instead, with residents chanting Black Power slogans and throwing rocks and bottles at police. Nine protesters were arrested by the end of the night.

1959 photograph measuring 8.5 x 8 inches, 1966 photograph measuring 7 x 9 inches. Both photographs Very Good plus, one with light creasing, and one with touchups and annotations on the recto relating to cropping.