A Memphis record store in the Summer, 1954 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
The [Fahey/Klein gallery](http://www.faheykleingallery.com) reveals _Ernest Withers: I’ll Take You There_, an exhibition hosted in coordination with his recently published book, _The Revolution in Black and White_ (CityFiles Press). This exhibition and book both serve to capture African American life in the South during the mid-20th century. The photographs from Withers include the famous Beale Street, families in Memphis, the skyrocket of Rock ‘n’ Roll and R&B, and the Civil Rights movement from the late 1940’s through the 1960’s as a time of revolutionary change and upheaval. Withers documented moments from high school proms and baseball to blues and historic marches.
“Photography is a collection of memories. One who is trained in photography knows that. Instinctively, people who have an occupation know what they ought to do. You call the fireman to put out the fire; you call the police to solve a police problem; and people who are news people and journalists are collectors and recorders of present evidence, which after a given length of time—days, months, years becomes history,” remarks photographer Ernest C. Withers.
_Revolution in Black and White: Photographs of the Civil Rights Era by Ernest C. Withers_ (CityFiles Press, 288 pages; $50) is available for purchase at the gallery. _Ernest Withers: I’ll Take You There_ is on view from May 6th, 2021 to June 5th, 2021 by appointment only.
A Prom at Manassas Hight School, 1961 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
B.B. King Performing on stage at The Hippodrome, Beale Street in Memphis, TN, with Bill Harvey, c. 1950 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
I Am a Man, Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, TN, 1968 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
Michael Willis, Harry Williams, and Dwania Kyles sit in the back of a car during the first day of Memphis school integration, 1961 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
The WDIA Twins, ca. 1948 © Ernest C. Withers Family Trust; courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
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