Not to slight professional news photographers in any way, but a lot of their craft is showing up.
As his photo archives prove, Ernest Withers showed up for more than 50 years. While others were loafing or shooting photos of weddings or birthdays, Withers was documenting the lives of musicians, civil rights leaders, children who desegregated schools, ballplayers, and ordinary people.
It wasn’t until the last decade or two of his life that he became an icon. With fame came scrutiny. Three years after his death, Mr. Withers (I always thought it was odd when his contemporaries called him “Withers”) was in the national news for spying for the FBI. The Commercial Appeal and reporter Marc Perrusquia researched and wrote the story over two years, and they should win a Pulitzer for it.
And Mr. Withers should, and I think ultimately will, be remembered for his great pictures.
