Ken Thompson’s Photography in the News

Civil Rights Photographs from Historical Collection on Display

by Elliott Wright

New York, NY, January 18, 2010–Dramatic civil rights photographs from the 1960s and 1970s, some never before seen publicly, are on display at The Interchurch Center in New York City. The exhibit, “Giving Voice: Unearthing the Ken Thompson Collection,” reveals both the heroism of the struggle and the forces of oppression that tried to block the way.

The photographs by the late Ken Thompson come from an important collection owned by the General Board of Global Ministries, which has had offices at the Center since it opened.

Thompson took thousands of civil rights photographs during a ten-year period, beginning with the historic 1963 March on Washington, which provided major incentive for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law prohibited many racially discriminatory practices in the United States.

The Exhibit

The exhibit of 20 photographs speaks on its own without the need for labels. Viewers of the art gallery will experience a consortium of images, ranging from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in deep contemplation and prayer, African-American teens being sprayed by high-pressure fire hoses, and jubilant demonstrations of praise and determination portrayed by followers of the civil rights movement.

“We are honored to share just a few of Ken Thompson’s photographs with the employees and visitors to The Interchurch Center,” said the Rev. Chris Heckert, associate general secretary for Mission Communications and Marketing of Global Ministries. “Ken Thompson’s pictures both interpreted the civil rights struggle to the religious communities and documented their involvement in the struggle.”

A contribution of The United Methodist Church to the celebration of the The Interchurch Center’s 50th anniversary, the photographs will be on display until February 12 in the lobby galleries at 475 Riverside Drive in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Many of the organizations housed in the Center over the years were actively engaged in the civil rights struggle two generations ago.

The exhibit is open to the public and marks both Martin Luther King Day on January 15 and February as Black History Month.

The Thompson collection of 30,000 black-and-white photos and negatives were purchased by the General Board of Global Ministries following the young man’s untimely death. Over the years, they were boxed and set aside. Heckert rediscovered the collection some two years ago and has taken steps to organize and conserve it.

The Photographer

Thompson, who died in 1973 at the age of 30, was a freelance photographer from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. In 1960, the 17-year-old high school senior won a photography contest that led to his career in photojournalism. He came to the attention of Herman Ahrens, Jr., editor of Youth, a magazine of the United Church of Christ, at a time when US Protestant denominations were actively pursuing ecumenical alliances in youth work. That work was prophetic for religious involvement in the emerging civil rights movement.

The rest of the article with the picture collection (and biography and more!) may be found here:

Giving Voice:  The Ken Thompson Collection