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Forty photographs taken by seven of the more than a dozen photographers who documented Freedom Summer are shown in the exhibition. Featured are images by Bob Fletcher, George Richmond Hoxie, Danny Lyon, Ted Polumbaum, Herbert Randall, Steve Schapiro, and Tamio Wakayama. Not all were in Oxford, nor in Mississippi, and not all were hired by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) or the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the partnering organizations which developed Freedom Summer.

Collectively their photographs piece together their role in the project and how they helped shape the narrative we know today. Some of the photographers wrote or spoke about their work, their experiences, and of specific moments that inspired them to click the shutter and capture the image. For others, we are left to read into the photographs and conclude what the images tell us through the lens of what we now know about the photographers.

Exhibition and Program sponsors

• FotoFocus Cincinnati

ºÚÁÏÉçÇø partner sponsors include

• Menard Family Center for Democracy
• Department of Media, Journalism & Film: Diana Stark Speaker Series in Journalism
• Office for Transformational and Inclusive Excellence
• Miriam W. Howard Art Museum Fund

Exhibitor Level Supporters

• Richard and Susan Momeyer

Featured Resources

Freedom Summer Self-Guided Tour

This short guide for faculty, educators, and group leaders in relation to Freedom Summer ‘64 at ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, focuses on the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM) and Western Campus.

Freedom Summer ‘64 for Self-Guided Classes and Groups

Featured ºÚÁÏÉçÇø

October Film Screenings

Visitors are encouraged to view the following films in our Auditorium, visit the special exhibition Through Their Lens: Photographing Freedom Summer, and the Freedom Summer ‘64 Memorial on Western Campus. No pre-registration necessary.

Training for Freedom

FRI, OCT 4, 3 P.M.

This short film (PBS/ºÚÁÏÉçÇø 2022, 27 mins) presents the history and personal stories of those who came together in Oxford, OH, as they prepared to help register Black voters in the deep south during the historic 1964 Freedom Summer campaign.

Reading Freedom Summer

FRI, OCT 11 & 25, 3 P.M.

This short film (2019, 31 mins) was directed by Andy Rice, Assistant Professor of Media, Communication and Film Studies at ºÚÁÏÉçÇø, in collaboration with ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs and community members. Reading Freedom Summer is a reflection on youth, risk, and and activism through intergenerational reading and reflections on letters written by the 1964 Civil Rights Movement volunteers.

Backstories & Insights: Herbert Randall on Freedom Summer 

WED, OCT 9, 5–7 P.M.

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer 1964, photographer Herbert Randall shares backstories and insights on his documentary work behind the lens for the historic Civil Rights project. Randall, who is one of the last surviving Freedom Summer photographers, documented the second week of training on the campus of the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, and a myriad of activities in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Randall will appear on screen in front of a live audience at RCCAM's auditorium for this in-person program moderated by Ann Elizabeth Armstrong of ºÚÁÏÉçÇø. 

Spotlight Tour: Freedom Summer ‘64 Photography — Danny Lyon

WED, OCT 16, 12–12:20 P.M.

with Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions

RCCAM staff share insights into one or more artworks on display in the galleries. Attendees are welcome to ask questions and engage in dialog. Gallery seating is available. All are welcome to bring lunch to eat in our auditorium afterward and continue the conversation (through 1 PM).

Keeping Freedom Summer Alive Webinar

TUES, OCT 22, 12–1 P.M.

With Jacky Johnson, Ian Polumbaum, and moderated by Jason Shaiman
(in association with the )

Please join us for a conversation with Jacky Johnson (ºÚÁÏÉçÇø Archivist), and Ian Polumbaum (Asst. District Attorney and son of Freedom Summer photographer Ted Polumbaum), as they discuss perspectives and the responsibility of portraying historical events through various lenses. This webinar delves into the ethical and practical dimensions of archival work in today’s digital age when working with sixty-year-old analog documents used in recording, preserving, and presenting truth through first-person narrative.