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Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. Page numbers after 305 refer to endnotes.
Abernathy, Rev. Ralph:
in FBI report, 160
and King’s discouragement, 263
and mass march against poverty, 237, 245
and memorial march, 288
and Montgomery Bus Boycott, 73–74, 263
and sanitation workers’ strike, 235, 252, 256, 263
Able, Emerson, 45–46
Ace, Johnny, 37
African Americans:
black nationalism, 184, 222–23, 239, 264
and Black Power movement, see Black Power
black press bureau, 50–51, 53, 55–56
civil rights of, see civil rights movement
Cold War, 53, 114–15
and Communism, 76, 84, 86–87, 166
and cross burning, 93, 96, 98, 102
and cultural shifts, 119
and drugs, “nigger nickel,” 121
economic equality for, 234
and election campaigns, 192–93
and Emmett Till trial, 49–62, 59, 63, 83
FBI’s mixed record with, 83–85, 109–10
FBI spying on, 87
government action in support of, 82
government lack of support for, 77, 83, 155, 162, 164
HNIC (head nigger in charge) in Beale Street power structure, 33
and independent community action, 184
Invaders, see Invaders
“Judas niggers” (spies), 55
and Ku Klux Klan, 52, 54–55
light-skinned, 125
and Little Rock High School integration, 78–84, 93
March Against Fear, 156–58, 159–61, 163
and the media, 51–53, 66
and Memphis fairgrounds, 65
in Memphis Police Department, 29–30, 30, 33, 210
“messiah” foretold by FBI report, 222, 239, 264
and Montgomery Bus Boycott, 63–64, 70–71, 72–75
music of, 47, 65, 66–67
and Nation of Islam, 126–31
northward migration of, 52, 58, 133
and photographic image making, 71
and poverty, 180–81, 182–83
and race riots (1967), 178, 180, 190, 230–31
and racial integration, 38–40, 48, 64, 70, 72–74, 78–83, 132
and rent strikes, 182–83
and restrictive real estate covenants, 93, 191
stereotypes of, 51, 54, 186, 192
survival of, 4, 53, 162
and Tent City, 109–10, 114, 117, 141, 146–50
travails of, 125–26, 127, 131, 145–46
underground operation of, 54–55
and Vietnam War, 158–59, 165–67, 169–70
violence toward, 54, 94, 110, 116, 155, 156–57, 161, 162; see also specific incidents and venues
voting rights of, 24, 54, 107, 108–11, 156, 160, 161, 164
Afro-American Brotherhood Speaks (newspaper), 219, 227–28
Agence France-Presse, 132
Ahlgren, Frank, 204, 277
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), 99
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), 209, 289
Apostolic Faith Mission, Los Angeles, 89
Arkansas National Guard, 82
Arkin, Eli H., 243, 277, 315
Arlington National Cemetery, 134
Armour, Claude, 119, 207
Associated Negro Press, 167
Associated Press, 80
Atlanta, civil rights activists in, 170, 174, 176, 224
Avalon Pool Room, Memphis, 217
Bailey, Walter, 286
Baltimore Afro-American, 79
Bates, Daisy, 81
Beale Street, 30–32
deterioration in living conditions on, 102
Elvis’s visits to, 42–46, 48, 306
fame of, 3–5
Flamingo Room on, see Flamingo Room
hustlers’ club on, 122–24
Mohammad Mosque on, 126–27
power structure of, 32–33
and sanitation workers’ strike, 7, 16, 245, 250, 253, 255, 257, 261, 275
shady dealings on, 32, 120–28, 243, 275
and Supreme Court ruling, 39–40
as tourist attraction, 5
urban renewal of, 5
Withers’s studio on, 5, 10, 30–31, 36, 60, 122, 165, 218, 285, 295
Beale Street (documentary), 276
Beifuss, Joan Turner, 17
Belafonte, Harry, 246, 252, 288
Bernice’s Beauty Shop, Beale Street, 120–21, 122, 125
Bevel, James, 235
Birdland, New York City, 47
Birmingham:
civil rights activism in, 145, 167–68
rioting in, 178
Birmingham Black Barons, 29
Black, Kay Pittman, 179, 180–81, 184–88, 224, 226, 265
black nationalism, 184, 222–23, 239, 264
Black Organizing Project (BOP), 212–13
black people, see African Americans
Black Power, 167
Afro-American Brotherhood Speaks (newspaper), 219, 227–28
and Carmichael, 162–64, 169–70
and COINTELPRO, 184–85, 186, 222–23, 241, 264
and election campaign, 192
FBI’s interest in, 169–70, 174–75, 189, 194, 195–97, 211–13, 222–24, 230, 231, 239, 241–43
and Gas Cap Riot, 174–76
House investigation of, 17
and ideological shift, 131
Invaders, 194, 212–13, 218, 219, 221, 222, 224–29, 230–32, 241, 264, 265–69, 274–75, 296
and Lawson, 168, 169, 176, 187, 189, 220–21, 224, 227, 260
and MAP-South, 186, 189, 220
and Molotov cocktails, 229, 241, 261, 266
original mission of, 164, 196
police action against, 224–27, 231
and sanitation workers’ strike, 213, 217–21, 224–25, 228, 249, 260, 264
threats of violence in, 174–76, 190, 192, 196, 220, 230
white paranoia toward, 230–31, 243
Withers as connection to, 174, 193–98, 218–21, 226, 229, 242–43
Withers’s photos of activists in, 103, 168–70, 220
Black Thesis, 227–28
Black Velvet (dancer), 44
Bland, Bobby “Blue,” 37
Blanton, Ray, 291
Bluff City, see Memphis
Booker, Simeon, 55, 57
Boone, Pat, 262
Boykin, Vera, 91–92
Braden, Carl and Anne, 146
Bradley, Amanda, 59
Brady, Mathew, 6
Brenston, Jackie, 38, 42
Brooke, Edward, 276
Brooklyn Dodgers, 167
Browder v. Gayle, 70–71
Brown, Bailey, 281
Brown, Gatemouth, 37
Brown, H. Rap, 178
Brown, J. C., 271
Brown, Minnie Jean, 83
Brown, Roy, 37, 38
Brown, Ruth, 37
Brownsville, freedom march in, 148
Brown v. Board of Education, 48, 72
Bryant, Roy, 56, 58
Burnham, Louis, 117
Byrd, Harry, 276
Cabbage, Charles, 170–75, 179–84
and Afro-American Brotherhood Speaks, 218–19, 228
and Black, 179–81
and Black Power, 171, 189, 190, 192, 193, 195–96, 197, 218, 226, 229, 241, 242–43
and Carmichael, 170, 183
and Civil Rights Documentation Project, 197
death of, 294
FBI’s interest in, 175, 185–86, 194–97, 212, 226, 230, 280
and Gas Cap Riot, 171–74, 177, 181
inflammatory talk of, 178, 180, 189–90, 192, 196, 226, 230, 241, 242–43, 244
and Invaders, 212, 219, 221, 241
and Lawson, 177, 181–83, 185–86
and mayoral election, 189, 192
and NAACP, 175
on poverty, 180–84
on rent strikes, 182–83
and sanitation workers’ strike, 249
and SNCC, 179–80, 181, 183, 186
and Withers, 193–97, 218, 219, 230, 242–43, 280
Cairo, Illinois, rioting in, 178
“Calvin’s Boogie” (tune), 41
Cambridge, Maryland, rioting in, 178
Camp Sutton Carry All, 25
Cantor, Louis, 307
Carley, Jack, 205
Carmichael, Stokely, 154–64
on action vs. negotiation, 155, 157, 159–64, 178, 183
and antiwar activity, 158–59, 165, 166
and Black Power, 162–64, 169–70
early years of, 154–55
FBI’s interest in, 160, 169–70
as Freedom Rider, 155
influence of, 170, 174, 222, 239
and King, 157–59, 160, 239
and March Against Fear, 156–58, 159–61
and Meredith, 156–57, 158
militancy advocated by, 178
in Mississippi, 156–58, 160–63
and SNCC, 154–57, 161–62, 163, 169, 174
Castro, Fidel, 118
Centenary Methodist Church, Memphis, 143, 144, 158, 175, 181
Central High School, Little Rock, integration of, 5, 78–84, 86, 93, 102, 110
Charles, Ray, 37, 66
Charles, Sissy, 44
Chicago Defender, 6, 52, 74, 102, 110, 117
Chicago Emergency Relief Committee, 117
Chilton, Alex, 149
Chilton, Mary, 149
Church, Robert, Jr., 3, 24, 96
Church of God in Christ (COGIC), 88–96
and Charles Mason, Jr., 92–96
and Charles Mason, Sr., 88–92
fire as central symbol of, 96
Home Temple burned, 94–95, 95
and sanitation workers’ strike, 217–18, 232, 233, 237
Withers’s photo of, 95
CIA:
activities of, 15
author’s grandfather’s work for, 13, 14–15
secrecy as necessary in, 14
“undemocratic deeds in the name of democracy” in, 15
Civil Rights Documentation Project, 197
civil rights movement:
and Communism, 86–87, 114–15, 141–42, 146, 264
confrontational aspect of, 131, 239–40
and economic equality, 234
emerging government interest in, 110–11, 198
and Emmett Till trial, 63
FBI’s interest in, 13, 86–87, 109–10, 112, 113–17, 160, 163, 198, 236, 239–41
and First Amendment rights, 140–41
and fundraising efforts, 163, 241, 243
and Gas Cap Riot, 171–74
and human rights, 234
ideological shift in, 131, 154, 155–56, 159–61, 163, 239–40
and independent community action, 184
integration inroads in, 38–40, 64, 70, 73, 83
and Justice Department, 109, 113, 114, 140
and Lawson, 143–46
in Little Rock, 5, 78–84, 93, 102
March Against Fear, 156–58, 159–61, 163, 248
and nonviolent social change, 70, 73, 76, 143, 146, 148, 159–60, 187, 222, 234, 244, 277–80
outsiders intervening in, 117–18, 133, 144, 148–50, 244, 274–75
and passive disobedience, 70, 107, 143, 155, 219, 228, 239
photography as weapon in, 49
and potential for violence, 116, 118, 133, 146, 155, 169, 174–76, 178–80, 183, 186, 187, 190, 198, 219–20, 226, 238–39, 263, 276–77
power to effect change sought in, 234
Quaker style (consensus through deliberation), 155
and SCLC, 144, 156, 163
Selma-to-Montgomery march (1965), 155, 160, 167–68, 248, 255
and SNCC, 144, 154–57
“sterilizing” police response to, 167–68
and Tent City, 108–11, 117, 146–50
University of Mississippi integration, 132–33
and Vietnam War, 163, 165–67
voting rights, 24, 54, 107, 108–11, 117, 160, 161
and Voting Rights Act (1965), 160
Withers as photographer and recorder of, 7, 15, 18, 147, 274, 295
Clark, Earl, 221
Clayborn Temple, Memphis, 216, 217, 228, 230, 237, 246, 247, 257, 260, 271, 288
Cleveland Buckeyes, 29
Clinton, Tennessee, bombing in, 107
Club Handy, Beale Street, 124
Club Paradise, Memphis, 190
Cody, J. Michael, 116
COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program, Black Nationalist-Hate Groups) [FBI], 184–85, 186, 222–23, 239, 241, 264, 296
Cold War, 53, 86, 115
Collins, Marjory, 141–42, 146
Communism:
and African Americans, 76, 84, 86–87, 166
and civil rights movement, 86–87, 114–15, 141–42, 146, 264
and FBI, 86–87, 115, 142, 147, 154, 197, 264, 292
Hoover on conspiracy of, 84, 154, 169, 264
and Lawson, 146, 166, 187
and Withers, 117, 142, 146, 147, 154, 197, 292
Community on the Move for Equality (COME):
and Black Power, 219
formation of, 217
and John B. Smith, 219
and Lawson, 217, 218, 220–21, 265
peaceful demonstrations urged by, 244–45, 249
and picket signs, 25, 266, 269–70
and sanitation workers’ strike, 217, 221, 237, 244–45, 249, 265, 266, 269–70
and Withers, 217, 280
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), 157
Cosby, Bill, 288
Counts, Will, 81, 85
Crayton, Pee Wee, 44
Crayton-Newborn guitar battle, 306
Crump, “Boss” E. H., 3, 23–24, 92
death of, 48, 124
and fire, 96
as Memphis mayor, 23, 27–29
and Memphis police, 29–30, 292
and Prohibition, 31–32
racist actions of, 27, 29, 32, 97
Currie’s Club Tropicana, 37
Curry, “Goose,” 28
Davis, Fred, 250
Davy, Earl, 79–80, 82
De La Beckwith, Byron, 161
Delaney, Donnie, 229
DeLoach, Cartha “Deke,” 203, 205, 284
Democratic National Convention (1964), 155
Detroit, rioting in, 178, 231
Diggs, Charles, 59
Doar, John, 136, 140
Dugan, Kid, 32
Durango (Goon Squad member), 40, 41
Durham, North Carolina, rioting in, 178
Eastland, James O., 86, 179
Eckford, Elizabeth, 80
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 77, 82, 85
Elizabethan England, pickpockets trained in, 122
Epps, Jesse, 233–34
Evers, Medgar, 55
death of, 133–34, 161
funeral of, 134–41, 272
Evers, Myrlie, 134
Faubus, Orval E., 78, 82
FBI:
and antiwar protests, 150–51, 164
and Black, 185–86
and Black Power, 169–70, 174–75, 189, 194, 195–97, 211–13, 222–24, 230, 231, 239, 241–43
and Carmichael, 160, 169–70
and civil rights movement, 13, 86–87, 109–10, 112, 113–17, 160, 163, 198, 236, 239–41
and COINTELPRO, 184–85, 186, 222–23, 239, 241, 264, 296
and Communism, 86–87, 115, 142, 147, 154, 197, 264, 292
and counterculture, 154
criminal profiling in, 282
and Emmett Till murderers, 83
Ghetto Informant Program in, 185
handwriting analyses used by, 100–101
and Invaders, 212, 230–31, 241–42, 265–68, 275, 294
King as person of interest to, 236, 237, 238–42, 260–61, 264, 269, 277–80
and King assassination, 17, 282–84, 289
and Little Rock racial violence, 83–86, 110
and Mason, 91, 99–101
and Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, 13–14, 215, 248, 260–61, 264–69, 275, 276–77
and Nation of Islam, 128–31, 193
political nature of, 114
primary mission of, 114
public image of, 204
Rabble Rouser Index, 241–43
secrecy required in work for, 14
smear campaign against King by, 256, 264, 277–78
and Tent City, 109–10, 114, 149, 197
Withers as informant to, 13, 15, 18, 87, 107–8, 109–13, 115–19, 129–31, 141–42, 147–50, 151, 166, 174, 187, 193, 197–98, 237, 241–43, 268–69, 272–73, 280, 287–88
Withers’s testimony about his Jackson arrest registered with, 139–41
and WTVP, 147–50
Feibelman, Hershel, 313
Fellowship of Reconciliation, 151
Ferguson, John Henry, 244
Flamingo Room, Memphis, 40–41, 42–46
Barn Dance in, 41, 46
“Battle of the Electric Guitars” in, 44–45
Elvis’s visits to, 41, 42, 45–48, 306
fusion in, 46, 47, 65
security in, 124
Withers’s photos of, 41
Ford, Henry, 40
Forman, Jim, 117–18
France, resistance in World War II, 54
“free at last” (King), 77
Freedom Riders, 103, 111–12, 155
Freedom’s Call (documentary), 310
Freedom Summer (1964), 155, 161
Freedom Train, 27
Gaia, Frank and Joseph, 23
Gandhi, Mahatma, 70, 143, 228
Garvey, Marcus, 115
Gas Cap Riot, 171–76, 177, 181
Gay Hawk diner, Memphis, 210
Gayle, W. A., 70–71
GI Bill, 27, 154
Gilliam, Dorothy, 133
Gillis, Ed, 213
Glenview Plan, 93, 96–97, 98, 102, 191
“Good Rockin’ Tonight,” 38
Goodwill Revue (WDIA), 66–67
Goon Squad, 40, 41, 124
Gordon, Roscoe, 37
Great Society, 177
Green, Al, 4, 7
Greenwood, Mississippi, Carmichael in, 161–63
Guihard, Paul, 132
Haggarty, Mike, 24
Hampton, Lionel, 37, 42
Harlem House, Memphis, 217
Harvey, Bill, 37
Harvey, Fred, 270–71
Hayes, Isaac, 3–4, 7
Henry, Aaron, 114
Hicks, Jimmy, 79–80
Hippodrome, Memphis, 37, 39
Holiday, Billie, 43
Holiday Inn–Rivermont, 263, 277
Holloman, Frank “Preacher,” 201–8
and Coretta Scott King, 288–89
as FBI SAC (Memphis), 201–5, 284
as Memphis police and fire director, 205–8, 230
and sanitation workers’ strike, 210, 213–16, 230, 231, 248–49, 251, 252, 255, 260
Home Temple, Memphis, 94–96, 95
Hooks, Benjamin, 113, 218
Hoover, J. Edgar, 85
and black nationalism, 223
and civil rights movement, 84, 109, 114–15, 116, 236, 271
on counterculture and Communism, 154, 169, 264
and Holloman, 201–6, 231
and Invaders, 212–13, 230, 231
and Justice Department, 140
and King, 237, 238, 261, 264
and Nation of Islam, 128–29
personal traits of, 114, 201
and Revolutionary Action Movement, 169
see also FBI
“Hound Dog” (song), 64
House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), investigation of King murder, 17, 267–68
Howard, T.R.M., 59, 83
I AM A MAN (picket signs), 7, 15–18, 246, 247, 250, 261, 265, 272, 274
“I Have a Dream” speech (King), 8, 76
India, British India in, 70
Ingram, William, 190, 192
Invaders:
and Black Operating Project, 212–13
and Black Power, 194, 212–13, 218, 219, 221, 222, 224–29, 230–32, 241, 264, 265–69, 274–75, 296
and Cabbage, 212, 219, 221, 241
FBI’s interest in, 212, 230–31, 241–42, 265–68, 275, 294
and John B. Smith, 194, 212, 219, 221, 224–27, 229, 274–75
and Lawson, 221, 225, 227, 274–75, 279
at Lorraine Motel, 280
and Molotov cocktails, 229, 241
and sanitation workers’ strike, 228, 244, 250, 264, 265–69, 267–68, 273
and Withers, 194, 212, 219, 241, 265–66, 268, 273, 275, 294, 296
Islam, see Nation of Islam
Jackson, David, 61
Jackson, H. Ralph, 217
Jackson, Mississippi:
Evers’s funeral in, 134–41
government action afterward, 138–39
violence in, 135–36, 139
Withers arrested in, 136–38, 139
Withers’s testimony to FBI about, 139–41
Jenkins, Willie James, 244
Jensen, Robert, 317
“Jerusalem Slim” (Jesus of Nazareth), 127
Jet, 49, 50, 147, 195
Jethro, Sam, 29
Johnson, Lyndon B., 155, 160, 175, 177, 239
Johnson, Orville, 196
Jones, Casey, 28
Jones, L. D., 257–59, 318
Joy nightclub, West Memphis, 38
“Judas niggers” (spies), 55
Justice Department, U.S., 109, 113, 114, 136, 140, 239
Kearney, Joseph, 129
Kennedy, Edward M. “Ted,” 179
Kennedy, John F., 191
campaign of, 5–6, 206
and civil rights, 138–39
and voting rights, 110–11
Kennedy, Robert F., 140
Kennedy Club, 138–39
King, B.B., 37, 42, 43, 47, 66, 69, 295
King, Coretta Scott, 288–89
King, Martin Luther, Jr.:
aftermath of assassination of, 282–86, 287–89, 296
antiwar stance of, 164, 166, 167, 175
assassination of, 3, 16, 17, 103, 280, 282–84, 295
and Black Power, 163, 164, 239, 263
charisma of, 74, 167, 222, 239, 264
FBI’s interest in, 236, 237, 238–42, 260–61, 269, 277–80
FBI’s smear campaign against, 256, 264, 277–78
final march of, 5
“free at last,” 77
on government lack of support, 77
“I have a dream,” 8, 76
investigations of murder of, 17–18, 267–68
and leadership issues, 278–81
and March Against Fear, 157–58, 159–61
march in memory of, 288
in Memphis, 4, 5, 76–77, 159, 232–36, 238, 279
and Montgomery Bus Boycott, 6, 63–64, 70–71, 73–74
on moral complexity, 286–87
“Mountaintop Speech” by, 92, 286–87
and nonviolent social change, 70, 73, 76, 160, 222, 277–80
oratory of, 70, 71, 76–77, 170, 192, 234–36, 243, 286, 296
planned return to Memphis, 280–81, 284
and Poor People’s Campaign, 234–35, 236, 238–41, 245–46, 263, 264, 276–78
removed from march, 16, 256, 261, 277
and sanitation workers’ strike, 16, 224, 232–36, 237–38, 243–46, 248, 251–56, 254, 260–61, 263–65, 269, 273
and SCLC, 144, 156, 163, 170, 224, 251, 264, 280–81
Withers’s photos of, 6, 12, 73–74, 280, 295
Klein, George, 66, 67
Korean War, 52, 187
Ku Klux Klan, 52, 54–55, 288
Lane, Hunter, 190
Lawrence, Red, 32
Lawrence, William H. “Bill”:
and antiwar protests, 150–51, 152–54, 166, 168
and Black, 186
and Black Power activists, 169–70, 174–75, 183, 189, 196, 197, 211–12, 219, 226, 241–43, 267–68
and civil rights ideological shift, 160
and FBI intelligence division, 208, 212, 241
information and photos from Withers to, 110–13, 116–19, 142, 144, 147, 166, 169–70, 174, 195, 197, 226, 237, 241–43, 265–66, 268, 273, 280, 287–88
and Invaders, 212, 231, 241–42, 265–68, 275
and King, 236, 237, 242, 269
and Little Rock racial violence, 83–84, 110
and Nation of Islam, 129
and picket signs, 250, 269–71
retirement of, 291
and sanitation workers’ strike, 221, 236, 250, 264–69
Withers recruited for FBI work by, 14, 107–8, 111–13
Withers’s complaint about his Jackson arrest to, 139–41
and WTVP, 147–50
Lawson, Rev. James Morris, Jr., 143–46, 185–88
antiwar activities of, 152–53, 158, 165–66, 169, 175–76, 187
birth and early years of, 143
and Black, 185–87, 224
and Black Power, 168, 169, 176, 187, 189, 220–21, 224, 227, 260
and COME, 217, 218, 220–21, 265
Communist connections of, 146, 166, 187
FBI’s interest in, 150–51, 166, 183, 185–86, 189, 273
and Invaders, 221, 225, 227, 274–75, 279
and King, 144, 166, 224, 232–33, 235, 252, 253, 256, 273, 279
and MAP-South, 177, 181–82, 183, 186, 189, 220, 313
and mass march in Memphis, 235–36, 237, 249, 251–53, 256–57, 257, 260, 265, 273, 274–76
and mayoral election, 189, 220
and NAACP, 145–46, 153, 175, 183, 189, 221, 273
on nonviolent resistance, 143–44, 146, 151, 168, 187, 224, 294
as pastor of Centenary Methodist Church, 143, 144, 158, 175, 181
public reputation of, 186–88
and sanitation workers’ strike, 215, 216–17, 218, 220–21, 223–24, 225, 228, 232–33, 235, 256–57
and SCLC and SNCC, 144
today, 292, 294
and Vietnam, 151, 152, 175
and Withers, 145, 146, 152, 158, 273, 276, 296
Lee, Bernard, 256
Levison, Stanley, 163, 264, 278–80
Lewis, John, 155
Lewis, Nathaniel “Pedro,” 120–28
and Beale Street underground activities, 121–24
and Nation of Islam, 126–28, 129
Life, 285
Lincoln League, 24
Little Rock:
Central High School integration, 5, 78–84, 93, 102, 207
civil rights activists in, 117
FBI’s interest in, 83–86, 110
Withers’s photos of, 295
Lockard, Hosea, 113
Locke, Dixie, 46
Loeb, Bill, 191, 262
as city commissioner, 97, 191
and Holloman, 206–7, 210
and mayoral elections, 190–92
as Memphis mayor, 194, 205, 206–7, 209, 213, 261, 289
and poverty programs, 234
and sanitation workers’ strike, 209–10, 213, 235, 250, 261, 289
Loeb’s Bar-B-Q, Memphis, 191, 216, 242
Loeb’s Laundry, Memphis, 191, 216, 242, 261
Look, 58
Lorraine Motel, Memphis, 158, 159, 160, 236, 277, 280–81, 284–86, 289
Louis, Joe, 21
Louis, Marva, 21–22, 27, 28, 37
Louw, Joseph, 285–86
Lunceford, Jimmie, 29
Lux, Henry, 248, 252, 256
MacDonald, James, 107–8, 245, 248
Mambo (dancing man), 40
MAP-South, 177, 179–80, 181–84, 185, 186, 189, 220, 313
March Against Fear, 156–58, 159–61, 163, 248
March on Washington, 232
Marie (film), 292
Marshall, Burke, 140
Marshall, Thurgood, 113, 193
Martin, J. B., 24, 28
Mason, Charles Harrison, 88–92, 233
death of, 101
FBI’s interest in, 91
and “freaks of nature,” 91
and Pentecostalism, 89
and speaking in tongues, 89, 90
spiritual rebirth of, 89–90
Mason, Charles Harrison “Bob,” Jr., 92–97, 95
backsliding by, 101–2
church burned, 94–95, 95, 100
death of, 102
early life of, 99
and Edna Smith, 101
FBI’s interest in, 99–101
and Glenview Plan, 93, 96–97, 102
house burned, 98–100, 102
threats to, 93–94, 96, 98–99, 100, 102
Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ; COGIC), 92, 217–18, 232, 233–34, 237, 243, 296
Mayfield, Percy, 37
Mays, Willie, 29
McCullough, Marrell “Max,” 211, 221, 226, 265, 267, 274, 285
McKissick, Floyd, 157
Memphis:
antipoverty efforts in, 177, 179–80, 183, 196, 220, 234
antiwar march in, 152–54
author’s arrival in, 3, 7
Beale Street in, see Beale Street
as birthplace of the blues, 3
and Black Power, 174–76, 190, 193, 242–43, 274
as Bluff City, 4–5
budget shortfall in, 210
Chamber of Commerce, 183
city council members, 213, 260
civil rights in, 107, 144–45, 204–5
Crump as mayor of, 23, 27–29
driving style in, 11
Elvis in, 3, 4, 5, 41, 42, 45–48, 64–67, 68, 69, 306
FBI office in, 83, 87, 109–10, 175, 189, 201–8, 248, 265, 271, 317; see also Lawrence, William H.
friendliness in, 4, 12, 187
Holloman as FBI SAC in, 201–5, 284
Holloman as police and fire director in, 205–8, 230
homicide rate in, 12
hustlers in, 11
King in, see King, Martin Luther, Jr.
mayoral election (1967) in, 189–92, 220
memorial march (1968) in, 288
musicians and nightclubs of, 7, 37, 40
nonviolent demonstrations in, 107, 145, 280, 281
open-air revivals in, 88
pace of life in, 4, 187
police activity in, see Memphis Police Department
Post House café sit-in, 112
racial unrest in, 16, 18, 189–93, 198, 206, 230–31, 244, 272
sanitation workers’ strike, see sanitation workers’ strike
school integration in, 119, 207
South Memphis poverty, 193, 234
threats of violence in, 174–76, 178, 179, 196, 230, 231, 241, 273
Memphis Area Poverty (MAP-South), 177, 179–80, 181–84, 185, 186, 189, 220, 313
Memphis Commercial Appeal, 13, 204, 205, 277–78
Memphis Fire Department, 289
Memphis Police Department (MPD):
black patrolmen in the force, 29–30, 30, 33, 210
and Mason incidents, 100
restraint shown by, 168
and sanitation workers’ strike, 16, 213–16, 215, 217, 218, 221, 224–27, 231–32, 243, 245, 247–53, 255–61, 258, 266, 272, 274, 315
tear gas used by, 249, 255, 257–58, 260, 272
undercover officer in, 211, 217, 226, 265, 274–75, 285
use of Mace by, 215–16, 217
violence and harassment toward blacks, 29, 212
and Withers, 29–30, 30, 32, 34–35, 107–8, 226, 274–75, 292
Memphis Press-Scimitar, 179, 185, 186, 224, 225, 265, 318
Memphis Red Sox, 24, 28–29
Memphis State College, Black Power recruitment at, 194
Memphis World, 27, 63, 273
Meredith, James:
on aggressive self-defense, 162–63
and March Against Fear, 156–57, 158
and University of Mississippi integration, 132–33
Metropolitan Baptist Church, Memphis, 76–77
Middlebrook, Rev. Harold, 247
Milam, J. W., 56, 57, 58
Miller, Adrian, 306
Miller, Christy, 36
Miller, Clifford, 36, 40, 44–45, 124, 306
Milton, Roy, 43
Milton Berle Show (TV), 64
Minneapolis, rioting in, 178
Mississippi:
Emmett Till trial in, 56, 60, 63
March Against Fear in, 157–58, 160–61
White Citizens’ Councils in, 55
Mississippi Freedom delegation (1964), 155
Mississippi River:
Memphis situated on, 5
Pentecostal baptisms in, 90
Mitchell, Sunbeam, 31–32, 33, 37, 124
Mohammad, Elijah, 128–29, 222
Molotov cocktails, 229, 241, 261, 266
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 72–75, 93, 102, 117
FBI’s view of, 84
and King, 6, 63, 70–71, 73–74
and Parks, 63–64
passive civil disobedience in, 70
and Supreme Court ruling, 70–71
Withers’s photos of, 6, 71, 73–75, 263, 272
Moore, Amzie, 114
Moore, George C., 238, 240–41, 276–77
Muhammad Speaks, 126, 130, 193
Muslims, see Nation of Islam
NAACP:
and antiwar movement, 153, 164, 175
and Black, 187
and Carmichael, 159–60, 163, 164
and Central High School integration, 81
and Emmett Till Trial, 54, 55, 58, 133
and FBI, 113, 114, 115, 145, 160, 169, 175, 183, 189, 196, 273
and Lawson, 145–46, 153, 175, 183, 189, 221, 273
and mayoral campaign, 189, 192
and negotiation vs. activism, 145, 156, 159–60, 164, 196
and nonviolent protests, 107
and power, 125
and racial unrest in Memphis, 178
and Rosa Parks, 63
and sanitation workers’ strike, 209, 221, 232, 250
and voter registration, 110, 147
and Withers, 111, 146, 175
Nashville:
“liberation school” in, 180
sit-ins (1960) in, 144
National Civil Rights Museum, 6
National Guardian, 117, 142
National Portrait Gallery, Washington, 6, 74
Nation of Islam (NOI), 126–31
appeal of, to African Americans, 131
and Black Power, 131
FBI’s interest in, 128–31
and Mohammad Mosque, 126–27
Pedro’s interest in, 126–28, 129
Withers’s reports to FBI on, 128, 129–31, 193, 292, 296
Negro American Baseball League, 24, 29, 36
Newark, New Jersey, rioting in, 178, 230–31
Newborn, Calvin, 41, 43–47, 306
Newborn, Mama Rose, 45
Newborn, Phineas, Jr., 43, 47
Newborn, Phineas, Sr., 43
Newborn, Wanda, 43, 44
Newborn Music Store, 45
New Republic, The, 144, 187
Newson, Moses J., 61–62, 79, 84–85, 109–10
New York Times, 65
Nolan, John, 259
North Memphis:
racially mixed atmosphere in, 23
Withers’s early years in, 22–24
Withers’s first studio in, 27
Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), 177, 179–81
Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), integration of, 132–33
Operation Freedom, 142
Ovid, 287
Owen College, Memphis, 112
Paige, Satchel, 28
Parchman prison farm, Mississippi, 155
Parker, Little Junior, 37, 47
Parks, Rosa, 63–64
Party of Lincoln, 139, 191
Payne, Ethel, 110
Payne, Larry, 259–60, 261, 318
Pentecostalism, 88–91, 96
Perrusquia, Marc, 13
Peterson, Oscar, 43
Phillips, Dewey, 38, 39
Phillips, Sam, 47
Phineas Newburn Orchestra, 41, 42–43
pickpockets, in Elizabethan England, 122
Pittsburgh Courier, 29, 60, 86, 109
Plough, Abraham, 31, 32
Poor People’s Campaign, 234–35, 236, 238–41, 245–46, 263, 264, 276–78
Presley, Elvis:
first record made by, 47, 49
first television performance of, 64–65
at Flamingo Room, 41, 42, 45–48, 306
fusion in style of, 47–48, 66, 69
“Hound Dog,” 64
in Memphis, 3, 4, 5, 41, 42, 45–48, 64–67, 68, 69, 306
at Memphis fairgrounds, 64–65, 307
“Memphis Mafia” of, 66
rhythm and blues as interest of, 45, 47, 66
and rock ‘n’ roll, 47, 65, 66
“That’s Alright Mama,” 47, 48
Withers’s photos of, 6, 48, 66–67, 68, 69, 295
Pride, Charley, 29
Prohibition, liquor business in, 31–32
Prysock, Red, 43
Ragghianti, Marie, 292
Randolph, A. Phillip, 27
Ray, James Earl, 283, 288
Ray, Jewell, 224
Redditt, Ed, 210, 245, 249
Reed, Walter, 59
Reed, Willie, 57–58, 59
Revolutionary Action Movement, 169
Richmond, Willie, 210, 249
Rickey, Branch, 29
Ricks, Willie, 161
Riley, Hayes, 11, 32, 33, 124, 125, 275
Robinson, Jackie, 29, 167
Rochester, rioting in, 178
“Rocket 88” (rock music), 38, 42
rock ‘n’ roll music, evolution of, 47
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 91
Rustin, Bayard, 232
St. Joseph’s Aspirin, 31
St. Louis Globe Democrat, 277
Salter, John, 137, 140–41, 142, 310
sanitation workers’ strike (Feb. 1968), 6–7, 208, 209–21
and Black Power, 213, 217–21, 224–25, 228, 249, 260, 264
Clayborn Temple headquarters of, 216, 217, 220, 228, 230, 237, 246, 257, 260, 271
and COME, 217, 221, 237, 244–45, 249, 265, 266, 269–70
deterioration into riot stage, 16, 214–16, 215, 249–51, 253, 255–61, 258, 266, 277
FBI’s interest in, 13–14, 215, 248, 260–61, 264–69, 275, 276–77
and Invaders, 232, 250, 253, 264, 267–68, 273, 274–75
King’s participation in, 16, 224, 233, 235–36, 237–38, 243–46, 248, 251–56, 254, 260–61, 269, 273
King’s removal from, 16, 261, 263–65, 277
march, 250–62, 254
at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ), 217–18, 232, 233, 237
mass arrests provoked in, 228–29
Max (McCullough) as police cover in, 211, 221, 226
and Minimum Salary Building, 217, 246, 249, 271
morning vs. afternoon participants in, 232
and NAACP, 209, 221, 232, 250
newspaper stories about, 230
organizers’ private planning vs. public activism in, 14
other photographers on the scene, 275–76
picket signs for, 16–18, 246, 249, 250, 253, 260, 261, 265–71, 272, 273–74
police activities in, 16, 213–16, 215, 217, 218, 221, 224–27, 231–32, 237, 245, 247–53, 255–61, 258, 266, 272, 274, 315
potential for violence in, 210, 218, 221, 230–31, 246
preparations for march, 235–36, 237–38, 241–46, 247–51
settlement of strike, 289
sit-in at City Hall, 224, 225
students involved in, 249–51, 253, 276
support for, 209, 232
violence and looting connected to, 16, 214–16, 215, 244, 253, 255–61, 258, 266, 272, 274–75, 276, 280
Withers’s involvement in, 16, 213, 216, 244
Withers’s photos of, 247, 249, 252, 254, 257, 260, 272–73
Selective Service Act, 143
Sellers, Cleveland, 162
Selma-to-Montgomery march (1965), 155, 160, 167–68, 248, 255
Shake Right, Miss (shake dancer), 44
Sharp, Pepper, 28
Shine Brothers, North Memphis, 22–23
Shriver, Sargent, 177, 179
Smith, Coby, 174–76, 177–83, 189, 193, 218, 294
Smith, Edna, 101
Smith, John B., 170–74
and Afro-American Brotherhood Speaks, 219, 227–28, 229
arrest of, 172–73, 224–25, 226–27
and Black, 179
and Black Power, 174, 189, 193–94, 195, 219–21, 224–27, 229, 249
and COME, 219
currently in Atlanta, 294
FBI’s interest in, 175, 189, 195, 211–12, 221, 266–69, 275
and Gas Cap Riot, 171–74, 177, 181
“Get your guns” speech of, 219–20, 220, 221
and Invaders, 194, 212, 219, 221, 224–27, 229, 274–75
and Lawson, 177–78, 181, 183, 189, 221, 227, 274
and mayoral election, 189
and Molotov cocktails, 229
and photography, 193
and sanitation workers’ strike, 219–21, 220, 224, 225, 228, 249, 266–69, 274–75
and Withers, 174, 193–94, 218–21, 226
Smith, Maxine, 113, 153
Smith, Vasco, 113
Smithsonian Institution, 6
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), 144, 156, 163, 170, 224, 251, 264, 280–81
Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF), 117, 141–42
Southern Patriot, 141, 142, 146
Soviet Union:
and Cold War, 53
Sputnik launched by, 86
US civil rights as propaganda tool of, 86
Spacek, Sissy, 292
Sportsmen Club, Beale Street, 124
Steele, Larry, 132
Steinberg, Lewie, 45, 46
Stevens, George, 40
Stokes, Thaddeus, 134, 138, 139, 140
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 161–64
Atlanta headquarters of, 170, 186
and Black Power, 162–64
and Carmichael, 154–57, 161–62, 163, 169, 174
FBI’s interest in, 169
formation of, 144
ideological shift in, 154, 163
lack of funds, 163
and Lawson, 144
mission of, 162
and poverty, 179–81, 183
violence promoted by, 162, 169, 174, 178, 179
Sugarmon, Russell, 138–39
Sullivan, William C., 147, 276, 277, 284
Sun Records, 47
Supreme Court, U.S., 39–40, 48, 64, 70, 72
Tarana, Miss, 38
Tatum, Art, 43
Taylor, Clifford, 196–97
Taylor, Evelyn, 97–98, 100, 102
Teen Town Singers, 67
Tent City, Tennessee:
and Communist connection, 117
FBI’s interest in, 109–10, 114, 149, 197
formation of, 109
government interest in, 111, 114–15
and law enforcement, 110
and voting rights, 108–11, 117
and West Texas Voters’ Project, 146–50
Withers’s photos of, 117, 118, 141, 197, 272
Teten, Howard, 282–84
“That’s Alright Mama” (song), 47, 48
Thomas, Carla, 68
Thomas, Rufus, 47, 66–67
Thompson, Lewis, 94, 99, 100–101
legacy of, 60, 61, 63, 64, 74
trial of, 49–62, 63, 74, 83, 102, 136, 296
Withers’s photos of trial, 57, 58, 60–61, 74, 136, 295
witnesses to murder of, 53–58, 59, 133
Till-Bradley, Mamie, 49, 56, 57–58, 59
Time, 257
Tisby (printer), 61
Tri-State Defender, 50, 52, 60, 61, 75, 133, 134, 138, 141, 147, 175, 273, 318
Turner, Ike, 38, 42
Turner, Jesse, 113, 146, 175, 192, 250
University of Mississippi, integration of, 132–33
Urban League, 159
U.S.A., espionage in, see CIA; FBI
U.S. Army, 154
U.S. Civil War, 154
U.S. Constitution, 70
Vietnam Summer, 175
Vietnam War:
and African Americans, 158–59, 165–67, 169–70
antiwar protests, 150–51, 152–54, 156, 163, 164, 165–68, 175, 248
Volunteer Ticket, 192
Voting Rights Act (1965), 160
War on Poverty, 177, 180–81, 182–84, 220, 313
Washington Post, 133
Washington Spring Project, 241, 277–78, 280
Watts rioting, 230–31
W. C. Handy Theatre, Memphis, 38
WDIA Memphis, 37, 40, 66–67, 192, 210
Wells, Ida B., 3
“We Shall Overcome,” 219
West Tennessee, voting rights in, 107, 109–10, 111, 114
West Tennessee Voters’ Project (WTVP), 146–50
White Citizens’ Councils, 55
Whitehead, Sonny, 85, 86
Wilkins, Roy, 113, 159–60, 232
Willard, John (Ray), 288
Williams, C. F., 258, 318
Williams, Nat D., 67, 86
Williams, Robert, 118
Willis, A. W., 113, 132, 178, 183, 189–90, 192, 220
Willkie, Wendell, 24
Wilson, L. Alex, 69
death of, 103
and Emmett Till trial, 51–53, 54, 55, 102
and Little Rock, 78–81, 83, 85, 86, 102
and Loeb, 97
as mentor to Withers, 53, 76, 102, 103, 116, 133, 166, 272, 273
and Montgomery Bus Boycott, 70–74, 75, 102
move to Chicago, 102
Withers, Andrew “Rome” (son), 78
Withers, Arthur (father), 23, 28, 33, 154
Withers, Clarence (son), 78
Withers, Dedrick “Teddy” (son), 78
Withers, Dorothy (wife), 26, 28, 34, 78, 79, 216
Withers, Dyral (son), 78
Withers, Ernest C., 5–12, 293
advertising by, 60
and antiwar protests, 151, 152–54, 165
Army photography of, 25–26, 154
author’s visit to office of, 7–12, 15, 295–97
baseball photos of, 28–29
and Beale Street power structure, 32–33
and Black Power, 168–70, 174, 193–98, 218–21, 220, 226, 229, 242–43
children of, 33–34, 35, 77–78, 79, 154, 292
and civil rights, see civil rights movement
as COME member, 217, 280
and Communist connections, 117, 142, 146, 147, 154, 197, 292
counterculture mistrusted by, 154
death of, 12
and Democratic Party, 139
“Don’t touch anything,” 8–10, 296, 297
early years of, 21–25
Elvis photographed by, 6, 15, 48, 66–67, 68, 69
and Emmett Till trial, 49–53, 54, 57–62, 74, 136, 295
as FBI informant, 13, 15, 18, 87, 107–8, 109–13, 115–19, 129–31, 141–42, 147–50, 151, 166, 169–70, 174, 185, 187, 195, 197–98, 212, 226, 237, 241–43, 265–66, 268–69, 272–73, 280, 287–88
FBI sting of, 291–92
First Amendment case of, 140–41
first camera of, 21–22
as flawed hero, 292, 295
as freelance photographer, 6, 7, 36–38, 49, 62, 103, 136, 272–73
and GI Bill, 27, 154
and House investigation of King murder, 268
income of, 60, 74, 117, 118, 242
integration theme in photos of, 66
and intellectual property rights, 10, 61–62, 295
and Invaders, 194, 212, 219, 241, 265–66, 268, 273, 275, 294, 296
and King, 158, 237
and King assassination, 284–86
legacy of, 7, 37, 75, 78, 292, 294–95
and Little Rock integration, 82–83
and March Against Fear, 158
as ME-338 R (Ghetto), 185, 195
and Memphis mayoral election, 192
and Memphis police, 29–30, 30, 32, 34–35, 107–8, 226, 274–75, 292
and Memphis unrest, 189–90
and Montgomery Bus Boycott, 71–75, 263, 272
and NAACP, 111, 146, 175
and Nation of Islam, 128, 129–31, 193, 292, 296
patriotism of, 154, 197–98
personal style of, 7, 108, 296
philosophy of, 59–60, 61, 71
photographic style of, 5–7, 15, 28–29, 37–38, 49, 69, 74, 152, 153, 272–73, 295
photography studio of, 5, 10, 27, 30–31, 36, 60, 122, 165, 218, 285, 295
and picket signs, 16–18, 246, 265–71, 272, 273–74
“Pictures Tell the Story” as credo of, 5, 38, 74, 147, 149, 152, 193, 272, 295
research methods of, 119
and sanitation workers’ strike, 16, 17–18, 213, 216, 220, 244, 246, 247, 249, 250, 252, 254, 257, 260, 264–69
on state alcoholic beverage control board, 291
and University of Mississippi integration, 132–33
violence and death threats to, 6
and War on Poverty, 181, 182
Williams as mentor to, 86
Wilson as mentor to, 53, 76, 102, 103, 116, 133, 166, 272, 273
and WTVP, 147–50
Withers, Ernest C., Jr. (son), 78
Withers, Perry (son), 78, 134, 136, 139, 140
Withers, Rosalind “Roz” (daughter), 78, 294–96
Withers, Wendell (son), 78
Withers Family Trust, 294–96
Withers Gallery, 295, 296
WLOK Memphis, 210
Worker, 117
World War II, 25–26, 54, 133, 154
Wright, Moses, 56–57, 58, 74, 295
Wurf, Jerry, 187
Young, Andrew, 233, 235
Young, Whitney, 159