Photo: Black Panther rally, Oakland, California.
Also: Exhibit | This Light of Ours:
Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement
The attention his photographs drew caused concern from the Cleveland and Cincinnati Student Activities Committees, the agencies behind the memos to the FBI. Though one memo is largely blacked out, but the information that is released states, “Considering the fact that LIGHT is associated with the ‘Underground Press’, it is felt an interview with him could prove embarrassing to the Bureau.” The final memo reveals that Light had been investigated, and the conclusion was “…the activities of LIGHT appear to be confined to the anti-war, anti-draft, and anti-establishment areas, and no information has been developed which indicates membership to a subversive organization of a propensity for violence. LIGHT therefore has been deleted from the Cincinnati Adex and active investigation has been discontinued.”
Arrest, Cambodian invasion riot, Columbus, Ohio,
These memos reserve as an apt reminder of how threatening freedom of the press was to the United States government, and how carefully they monitored their own citizens. The memos also remind us of the power of the photograph to speak truth to power without ever uttering a word.
Light reveals, “This book tells our story—it shows how I saw American and the actions of my generation through the lens of a 35mm camera from 1969-1974, and gives us some insight and understanding into the most important era of modern American history. It was the time of Woodstock, the rise of the Women’s Liberation movement, campus unrest, SDS, The Moratorium, Give Peace A Chance. Richard Nixon being elected for a second term then resigning the Presidency, the killings at Kent State University, flag wavers, Hippies, the War in Vietnam ending, the POWs returned. The full effects of the music and Cultural Revolution were upon America. It was a time of huge social and political upheavals. These changes were magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation in the 1960s, which gave it the power and inclination to rebel against societal norms.”
Barbecue, West Oakland, California.
Through Light’s lens’ we criss-cross the country, staying closely connected to the spirit of the era and the way it moved through the people. Light shows us both sides: the rebels and the Republicans, allowing us to reflect on how we have inherited these conflict that rage on in the very fabric of this country, forever threatening to tear it apart. Yet despite the darkness, there is a warm, hopeful, optimistic glow throughout the photographs, revealing Light’s faith in humanity’s ability to co-exist throughout it all.
Appalachian folk festival, Kentucky.
All photographs © Ken Light
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
