Civil rights leaders, including Rev. Martin Luther King, prepare to leave Selma, Alabama, at the start of the third march. (photo by Matt Herron, courtesy of CDEA)

The Skirball Cultural Center has unveiled the West Coast debut of “This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement.” The exhibition is presented by the Center for Documentary Expression and Art and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.

“This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement” presents the visions and voices of a group of photographers who committed themselves to the crucial cause of the Southern Freedom Movement in the 1960s. More than 150 photographs by nine photographers – Bob Adelman, George “Elfie” Ballis, Bob Fitch, Bob Fletcher, Matt Herron, David Prince, Herbert Randall, Maria Varela and Tamio Wakayama – reveal the daily life, struggle and strength of disenfranchised Black communities, and the vital work undertaken by a broad coalition of activists during the Civil Rights Movement, particularly within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. These photographers lived within the movement and documented its activities by focusing on local people and socially engaged students to portray community life as well as protest.

“This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement” shines a light on the interracial collaborations within the Civil Rights Movement through the work of photographers who identified variously as Black, white, Jewish, Christian, Native American, Mexican American and Japanese Canadian. Unlike photojournalists who only reported on breaking news events, they captured an insider’s perspective of the movement’s inclusive coalition of diverse volunteers led by young Black activists who produced a revolution in social justice, creating a model of true allyship that we hope to emulate today.

“The Skirball is incredibly honored to present ‘This Light of Ours: Activist Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement,’” said Jessie Kornberg, Skirball Cultural Center president and CEO. “As a minority group that has faced perpetual discrimination, Jews have seen a parallel to their own struggles for safety and equality in the stories of the Black Freedom and Civil Rights Movements. The photographs in this exhibition highlight a diverse array of young Americans who aligned to support the Black Americans leading these Movements. The marches from Selma to Montgomery were a critical moment of solidarity between Black organizers and Jewish allies. They demonstrated Black Americans’ resistance to segregation and desire to exercise their constitutional right to vote. And they visibly demonstrated the cross-racial and inter-religious support for Black Americans.”

The Skirball is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the Skirball’s exhibition “This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement” includes general admission. For information, the public may call (310)440-4500 or visit skirball.org.