Spider Martin photographs, 1965, 1968

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Summary

Creator:
Martin, Spider, 1939-2003
Abstract:
James "Spider" Martin was an Alabama photojournalist known for his work documenting the American Civil Rights Movement. Collection comprises 44 black-and-white photographs, mostly 8x10 or 11x14 inches, documenting the March 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. Subjects include civil rights leaders and march participants Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, James Bevel, Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, Bob Mants, Amelia Boynton Robinson, and Hosea Williams, as well as marchers, protesters, counter protesters with signs and Confederate flags, local police, and federal troops. Locations include the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma; downtown Selma; the Edmund Pettus Bridge (site of the "Bloody Sunday" violence against protesters on March 7, 1965); Highway 80; downtown Montgomery; and the State Capitol grounds in Montgomery. Three related images are of Alabama governor George C. Wallace speaking during the 1968 U.S. presidential campaign. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
1 Linear Foot (2 boxes)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
RL.11866

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises 44 black-and-white images taken by Alabama-born photo journalist Spider Martin, documenting in detail the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. Subjects include civil rights leaders and march participants Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speaking and marching; Ralph Abernathy; James Bevel; Coretta Scott King; John Lewis; Bob Mants; Amelia Boynton Robinson; and Hosea Williams. There are also images of marchers and protesters; counter protesters with signs and Confederate flags; musicians Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Harry Belafonte performing at the final rally in Montgomery; local and state police; and federal troops protecting the marchers. Many of these photographs became iconic images of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Locations include the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma, downtown Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge (site of the "Bloody Sunday" violence against protesters on March 7, 1965), Highway 80 along which marchers walked, downtown Montgomery, and the State Capitol in Montgomery.

Additional related images are of Alamaba governor George C. Wallace speaking at rallies during his 1968 presidential campaign.

All of the prints were created via the gelatin silver process by Spider Martin, chiefly from 1993-1999 and some in 1965. Many are signed, and some bear handwritten captions, titles, commentary, and other marks in the photographer's hand. The donor's inventory also provided titles as well as contextual captions.

Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

James "Spider" Martin was a photographer known for his work documenting the American Civil Rights Movement in 1965, specifically Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery March. He was born in 1939 in Fairfield, Alabama, and died in 2003 in Blount Springs, Alabama.

Acquisition information:
The Spider Martin photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2020.
Processing information:

Processed by Paula Jeannet, December 2020. Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2020-0077.

Physical facet:
44 photographic prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research

Terms of access:

Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial purposes; any other use requires the photographer's permission. The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], Spider Martin photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1fm9x