Hattiesburg Remembers the Freedom Summer of 1964 Exhibit

News item published on: 2010-10-12 08:29:48

Many scholars believe that there are few events in American History which have had as profound an impact on the country as the Civil Rights Movement. That momentous time in American history can be relived through original photographs displayed in the Hattiesburg Remembers the Freedom Summer of 1964 exhibit in the Gallery in Cook Library at The University of Southern Mississippi.

The photographs are a selection of images from the Herbert Randall Freedom Summer Photograph Collection, which is held at The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries in Hattiesburg. They paint a vivid portrait of events, lives and emotions in Hattiesburg during the summer of 1964 and include images of voter registration canvassing, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Freedom Schools, the Free Southern Theatre, and a picnic at the home of Vernon Dahmer.

Herbert Randall Jr., a talented young African and Native American photographer, was awarded a fellowship for creative photography which he used to spend the summer of 1964 in Hattiesburg photographing the Civil Rights Movement. His photographs were used by the Associated Press, United Press International, Black Star and various television outlets. Randall was awarded the Creative Artist's Public Service Grant for Photography for his work and his photographs have been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and other notable museums. His photographs are permanently represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress.

The Hattiesburg Remembers the Freedom Summer of 1964 exhibit is sponsored by VISITHATTIESBURGâ„¢ and the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries, and will run from October 8 through October 31. The exhibit is free to the public and will be open Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-2 a.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, noon-2 a.m.