On February 18, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jackson, a demonstrator in Marion, Alabama, was shot and killed while protesting for equal voting rights. At the same time, 25-year-old James “Spider” Martin, a staff photographer for The Birmingham News, was sent to cover the events that unfolded. This pivotal event prompted an organized fight for civil rights in the South and Martin’s photography would help this effort become national, front page news.   

Martin would go on to cover the entire Selma to Montgomery march and other voting rights events, including Bloody Sunday and Turnaround Tuesday. Despite protests from his employers, he was dedicated to showing the world the fight for equal rights happening in his home state of Alabama. Walking from Selma to Montgomery “backward,” Martin was always a step ahead of the demonstrators, capturing their emotions and heroic efforts through the lens of his camera.   

All photographs in this exhibition are archival pigment print reproductions of Martin’s original negatives. These images were reprinted by photographer Karen Graffeo in 2023. Martin’s negatives date to 1965 and are held in the collection of The Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas. Copyright is held by Tracy Martin, Birmingham, Alabama.