Bob Adelman: Witness to history | CNN

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Bob Adelman: Witness to history

Updated 10:28 AM EDT, Thu March 24, 2016
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Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. This photo was taken by Bob Adelman, who was volunteering for the Congress of Racial Equality and took some of the most iconic photos of the civil rights movement. Adelman died Saturday, March 19, at the age of 85.
Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. This photo was taken by Bob Adelman, who was volunteering for the Congress of Racial Equality and took some of the most iconic photos of the civil rights movement. Adelman died Saturday, March 19, at the age of 85.
Bob Adelman/Corbis
Civil rights demonstrators are sprayed with water in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. "I have never witnessed such cruelty," Adelman said. "There was almost as much moisture behind the lens as in front. I gave a print of this picture to Dr. King. He studied it and said, 'I am startled that out of so much pain some beauty came.' "
Civil rights demonstrators are sprayed with water in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. "I have never witnessed such cruelty," Adelman said. "There was almost as much moisture behind the lens as in front. I gave a print of this picture to Dr. King. He studied it and said, 'I am startled that out of so much pain some beauty came.' "
Bob Adelman/Corbis
White women socialize near a black maid at a party in Dallas in 1965.
White women socialize near a black maid at a party in Dallas in 1965.
Bob Adelman/Corbis
Malcolm X participates in a debate in January 1962.
Malcolm X participates in a debate in January 1962.
Bob Adelman/Corbis
Civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, center, demands service in Baltimore in 1962.
Civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, center, demands service in Baltimore in 1962.
Bob Adelman/Corbis
The Rev. Joe Carter guards his Louisiana house from the Ku Klux Klan after he registered to vote in 1964. "If they want a fight, we'll fight," Carter said. "If I have to die, I'd rather die for right. I value my life more since I became a registered voter. A man is not a first-class citizen, a number one citizen, unless he is a voter."
The Rev. Joe Carter guards his Louisiana house from the Ku Klux Klan after he registered to vote in 1964. "If they want a fight, we'll fight," Carter said. "If I have to die, I'd rather die for right. I value my life more since I became a registered voter. A man is not a first-class citizen, a number one citizen, unless he is a voter."
Bob Adelman/Corbis
Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., attends a memorial service for her slain husband in 1968.
Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., attends a memorial service for her slain husband in 1968.
Bob Adelman courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery
Adelman attends the <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2015%2F01%2F06%2Fus%2Fgallery%2Fselma-bloody-sunday-1965%2Findex.html" target="_blank">Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march</a> in 1965. "When I photographed, I was intent on telling the truth as best I saw it and then to help in doing something about it," Adelman<a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.loc.gov%2Ftoday%2Fpr%2F2014%2F14-154.html" target="_blank" target="_blank"> told the Library of Congress.</a>
Adelman attends the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march in 1965. "When I photographed, I was intent on telling the truth as best I saw it and then to help in doing something about it," Adelman told the Library of Congress.
Bob Adelman Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery

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