On May 17, 1957, through the generosity of Bayard Rustin, Lee Friedlander was given full access to photograph participants in the Washington, DC Freedom Prayer Pilgrimage. This extraordinary event, organized by Mr. Rustin, as well as by A. Philip Randolph , Roy Wilkins, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., brought together many of the great thinkers and leaders of the day, and was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
Friedlander's photographs show the famous people of the event - Mahalia Jackson, Ruby Dee and Harry Belafonte, among many other luminaries of the African-American community - but also pay special attention to the 25,000 men, women and children who came together to give a voice. and energy to the ideas fought by the movement.
The 58 previously unpublished photographs collected here are among Friedlander's earliest works. Also included in this publication is the typescript of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Give Us the Ticket election" speech and additional facsimile-produced march ephemera.