Abstract

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is arguably the most influential civil rights activist group of the 1960s. Although hired as the first staff photographer in 1962, Danny Lyon’s seminal contribution to SNCC has been overlooked by most historians. It is clear that SNCC used photography, specifically Lyon’s photos, to help attain respectability for the organization, and to achieve justice for the cause of racial equality and desegregation in the United States. Lyon’s photographs effectively created a narrative that challenged the negative reputation that was given to the organization. The resonance of a powerful photo lasts longer than any other medium of communication, and Lyon’s images seared an awareness into the nation’s psyche, and helped create SNCC’s legacy and historical image. This is an important topic to investigate because it will contribute to the way history is studied by emphasizing the significance of photography in any social movement in history.