Danny Lyon Civil Rights Movement Analysis

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As the Civil Rights movement raged in the 1960s, new sources of media, such as photography, became cheap and readily available to all people. One such group, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community (SNCC), utilized this opportunity to show their side of the Civil Rights movement and convey their messages as they fought for freedom in the black community. Photography was a defining piece of SNCC, as it allowed them to capture the truth and the side of American life not everyone had the option to see. To fully achieve this goal, SNCC hired the photographer Danny Lyon, self taught and motivated by his love for social change and photography, to follow and document their movement so they could spread their message and strengthen the fight …show more content…

This is very important because it allows everyone to see all that is occurring in front of them. Nothing is covered up or being masked, it is all presented simply and open for interpretation. It places the viewer in the situation that Lyon was in himself. The photo lets people see through his lens. Based off of the situation that Lyon is capturing, it can be assumed that he wanted to spread the message of police aggression and how peaceful protests were treated. Julian Bond, the first communications secretary of SNCC stated that, “Lyon was able to show who wanted the worked stopped, how angry they could become, and what damage they could do.” This quote exemplifies that perhaps in some way Lyon wanted to show who was involved with the action taken against the Civil Rights movement and to what extent they would go. On the other hand, it can be interpreted that he only wanted to show the protests by SNCC and the efforts they took to speak their message, which is what his original job was. Bond also recounted how Lyon “showed what we did and how we did it and who we were and who we worked with and where the work was done.” His goal in some sense had to aim toward the beliefs of SNCC and it can be assumed that he wanted to truly spread their message. The vantage point that Lyon has, permits the audience to the evident anger and oppression aimed towards the black community as they protested for their basic rights as American citizens. SNCC wanted this to be spread so Americans understood the hardships they faced and would join the cause for change. After incidences like the Freedom Rides, when it was “firebombed by a mob of Klansman” and the riders were held “inside as the bus burned,” SNCC wanted to utilize all sources to show this pure rage expressed by parts of the white community. In the end, Lyon was the

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