Ernest C. Withers

Place: Memphis

Born: 1922

Death: 2007

Biography:

Ernest C. Withers was an American photojournalist born on August 7, 1922, in Memphis, Tennessee. He served as a military photographer during World War II and chose photography as his profession upon returning to Memphis. Withers is best known for his photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the strike of Memphis sanitation workers. He was often the only photographer to record these scenes, many of which were not yet of interest to the mainstream press. Withers also photographed famous musicians such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, B. B. King, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, and Al Green. Over his six-decade career, Withers accumulated a collection of an estimated five million photographs. He passed away on October 15, 2007.