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Flashback To '63 With These Righteous Photos From The March On Washington
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 22, 2013
Modified Aug 22, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 22, 2013
Modified Aug 22, 2013
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Photographer Rowland Scherman, who grew up in Pelham Manor, NY, began his career as the first photographer for the newly formed Peace Corps in 1961. He went on to work for the likes of Life, Time, National Geographic, Playboy, and countless other magazines. As far as Rowland is concerned, he views himself as "the Forrest Gump of Photography," consistently stumbling into the right place at the right time—and he was there to document some of the most iconic moments of the 1960s and 1970s.
And that includes the historic March on Washington in 1963. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the march, we've pulled some of Rowland's classic shots from the archives: in the amazing historic photos above, you'll catch glimpses of Martin Luther King Jr, Sammy Davis Jr, James Baldwin, Jackie Robinson, Marlon Brando, Odetta, Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and more at the original rally.
Rowland is particularly proud of the intimate photo of Dylan and Baez performing: "It looks like they're singing to each other in their backyard, but there are 250,000 people listening to them." You can see the full performance below.
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bob dylan
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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