Praying Pickets at White House: Civil rights demonstrators pause in their picket march at the White House today to kneel in prayer. Leading the prayer at right is the Reverend Anthony de Cesare of the Roman Catholic Church, Washington D.C.

This demonstration was in response to the March 7, 1965 “Bloody Sunday”, where peaceful marchers calling for voting rights were brutally beaten by state and local police in Selma, Alabama as they attempted to march to the state capitol in Montgomery.

Donated to the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College by Michael Mattis and Judy Hochberg on June 2, 2021.

On recto: Typewritten label above picture, "(WX18)WASHINGTON ['D. C.' handwritten in blue ink], MARCH 11 --PRAYING PICKETS AT THE WHITE HOUSE--Civil rights demonstrators pause in / their picket march at the White House today to kneel in prayer. Leading the prayer at right is / the Rev. Anthony de Cesare of the Roman Catholic Church. (AP WIREPHOTO) (SEE AP WIRE STORY) / (rw51620wjs)1965". On label, "WASHINGTON" underlined in blue ink.

On verso: Stamped in red ink near center, "RETURN to: / CHRONICLE FILES / MAR 16 1965". Handwritten in blue ink right of stamp: "Washington, D.C. / 1965". Handwritten in graphite at bottom left edge: "CVL-DC-157 2000".

Sheet: 7 9/16 x 10

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Civil Rights Movements
• Discrimination
• Father Anthony de Cesare
• Injustice
• Picketing
• Prayer and Devotion
• Protesters
• Street Scenes
• Washington DC
• White House

• Image Dimensions: 5 5/8 x 9 in. (14.29 x 22.86 cm)