Artwork Page for Willie Ricks was one of SNCC’s great stump speakers, capable of getting great emotional responses from a crowd. During the Meredith March in Mississippi, where King and Stokely Carmichael marched side by side, it was Ricks who first unleashed the “Black Power” cry. Here he speaks in Atlanta

Details / Information for Willie Ricks was one of SNCC’s great stump speakers, capable of getting great emotional responses from a crowd. During the Meredith March in Mississippi, where King and Stokely Carmichael marched side by side, it was Ricks who first unleashed the “Black Power” cry. Here he speaks in Atlanta

Series Title: Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

Willie Ricks was one of SNCC’s great stump speakers, capable of getting great emotional responses from a crowd. During the Meredith March in Mississippi, where King and Stokely Carmichael marched side by side, it was Ricks who first unleashed the “Black Power” cry. Here he speaks in Atlanta

1964, printed later

Danny Lyon

(American, b. 1942)
Culture
America
Medium
gelatin silver print
Measurements
Image: 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg 2023.84
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Willie Ricks contributed to the emergence and language of the Black Power movement.

Description

Nicknamed “The Reverend” for his dynamic oratory, Ricks (born 1943) was recruited for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1963 by James Forman (see 2023.XXX). He worked as a field organizer for SNCC, which employed his considerable talent as a speaker to energize and motivate audiences to actively engage in protest.
A vertically oriented black-and-white photograph depicts Willie Ricks, a man with a dark skin tone, pictured from the waist up. Leaning forward with his mouth open, he wears a dark jacket with a "STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE" pin. To his left stands a youth, while a figure in a spiky hat occupies the foreground. In the background, large painted words "DRY & CLEANING" and "SHIRTS" mark the brick wall.

Willie Ricks was one of SNCC’s great stump speakers, capable of getting great emotional responses from a crowd. During the Meredith March in Mississippi, where King and Stokely Carmichael marched side by side, it was Ricks who first unleashed the “Black Power” cry. Here he speaks in Atlanta

1964, printed later

Danny Lyon

(American, b. 1942)
America

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