About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached from the pulpit of the Historic First Baptist Church on June 26, 1962. During the Civil Rights Movement, he was photographed by Dr. Ernest C. Withers, a Memphis photojournalist whose work helped document the struggle for equality. In the 1950s, Withers advanced the cause through a self-published photo pamphlet about the Emmett Till murder. Over the next two decades, he developed close relationships with Dr. King, Medgar Evers, and James Meredith. His photographs captured pivotal moments, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Memphis sanitation workers' strike, often recording scenes the mainstream press overlooked. Beyond the Civil Rights Movement, Withers also chronicled Negro League baseball and Memphis's vibrant Beale Street music scene, photographing figures such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, B. B. King, Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, and Al Green. In 1956, he photographed a young Presley arm in arm with Dr. King at a Memphis club. To celebrate Juneteenth 2026, the Withers family will offer a sneak preview of previously unseen photographs taken by Dr. Withers. Over a career spanning more than sixty years, Withers amassed an estimated five million photographs. His work appeared in publications including The New York Times, Jet, Ebony, Newsweek, and Life, and was showcased in exhibitions across the country. In recognition of his contributions, he was inducted into the Black Press Hall of Fame and awarded an honorary doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Art.