Ernest C. Withers has been recording history with his camera for more than sixty years. For most of his life, Withers has lived and worked as a photojournalist in Memphis, Tennessee, where he covered newsworthy events, both local and national, over some six decades. (61) As an African American intimately familiar with the geography and people of the South, he was often the first photographer present as historic moments took place. Using his hometown as his base and documenting the key people and events of the world in which he grew up, observed, and learned.
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[1] When his older sister's boyfriend showed no interest in using a camera that she had bought for him, Withers took it to school and photographed his classmates. [2] Years later, while serving as a jeep driver in World War II, he received permission from his company commander to train at the photography school at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. [3] Withers started taking pictures in his youth. [4] In 1946, he left the Army and began working at a job that was a self-employed photographer. (67)
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Withers's profession gave him access to famous people. He has photographed seven of the last eight U.S. presidents and every major civil rights leader since the 1950s. Thus, he is well known and well liked, Withers often traveled with and photographed such historic figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, and James Meredith. For instance, his photos of Memphis's Beale Street jazz and blues musicians includes the likes of B. B. King, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley.
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In addition to capturing many public personages on film, Withers also photographed: waitresses, church congregations, nightclub audiences, and Little League baseball games. "I can't play a piano, I can't play a guitar, all I can do is take a picture," Withers said in a recent interview. At long last, Ernest C. Withers had recorded some five million photographic images.