By Tony Jones
MEMPHIS, TN — The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery, in collaboration with the non-profit MVP3 Foundation, has arranged a special one-time screening of a new in-depth documentary chronicling how noted Black history photographer Dr. Ernest C. Withers Sr. amassed what can easily be described as one of Black America’s most important photographic collections.
Entitled “SNAP! A Look At Injustice In America”, the feature length documentary will be screened Saturday, Feb. 24, 10 a.m. at the Malco Paradiso Theater, 584 S. Mendenhall. Admission is free. It is to be released for streaming in March by the MVP3 Entertainment Group.
SNAP! was crafted by award winning film maker Chuck O’Bannon from a script written by Connor Scanion, a research and licensing specialist credited as an expert on the collection. Credited as defining southern Black life in America during the civil rights era, his files encompass an astounding 1.8 plus million images, as noted by the collection’s website.
Located at 333 Beale Street, the museum was founded in 2011 by his daughter Rosalind Withers. She expresses, “The importance of my father’s work has been a blessing to the world and an inspiration for Human Rights supporters everywhere. The film allows viewers to take a long, close-up look at what our people have endured throughout American history.” His iconic “I Am A Man” photo is a worldwide trademark and his photographs are on display in respected collections, including on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, Memphis’s National Civil Rights Museum and other respected institutions. SNAP! chronicles the day-to-day life that led to this singular achievement.
Following his death in 2007, controversy erupted when a 2010 expose in Memphis’s Commercial Appeal newspaper reported heavily censored FBI files stating Withers was an informant within the civil rights camp, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum does not shirk the debate, displaying a permanently mounted panel duplicating the allegation, based upon heavily censored FBI files.
What cannot be disputed is the value of his work. O’Bannon feels, “After years of thought, I’ve come to this conclusion. His work was so damaging to the nation’s racist community they did not want it exposed to his work. And not just the civil rights struggle. Covering the Emmitt Till case, the Montgomery boycott, every day truth, they were hoping his work would be stored away in boxes and crates never to be seen again. But that was not the case. His work became more visible than ever.”
As difficult as it may be to do so, out of respect to our deadline I have to close this column with a long note of disclosure. Like so many of his adopted artistic progeny, after hearing his name throughout my childhood, I’m proud to have been personally guided by Dr. Ernest Withers while front page reporter at the Tri State Defender newspaper. And as one of the co-founders of our talent investment group 16 Bars Entertainment, it was my decision that led to the principle financing for Memphis based documentary “United Front: The 1991 People’s Convention”, executive produced by The Rainbow Connection (Arthur and Anniece Robinson). Under intense pressure, O’Bannon narrated, directed and edited the film, which earned several jury-based film festival awards due to his yeoman’s work. If nothing else, I can certainly recommend that anyone interested in viewing SNAP! should expect to enjoy a thorough examination of a man’s work and life no one outside of heaven can ever truly judge.
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