Through the Eyes of Danny Lyon: The Importance of Photography in Understanding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Through the Eyes of Danny Lyon: The Importance of Photography in Understanding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Name: Anna Ptacek
Major: History
Hometown: Racine, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Stephanie Mitchell
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

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.

Poster file