Some of America's most famous Civil Rights icons took part in the 54-mile, five-day march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. in 1965. A new exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center called "Witness to the Journey" showcases another side of the famous moment advocating for the Voting Rights Act.
Photographer Matt Harron accompanied the march and focused on some of the thousands of everyday people who took part.
Twenty-eight of the images he took will be on display from Sept. 4 to Nov. 8 in the Freedom Center's Skirball Gallery as part the FotoFocus 2026 Biennial.
Harron's widow, Jeannine Harron, went with him on the march. She says he was inspired by the grassroots nature of the Civil Rights movement, as well as a famous Depression-era photojournalist.
"He was very influenced by the work of Dorothea Lange and wanted to create the same kinds of images of ordinary people carrying out these risky and dangerous things in order to achieve freedom," she told WVXU.
Exhibit Curator Stephanie Lampkin says Harron did take photos of Civil Rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the march, but his interest in others who weren't nationally-known gives his photos an added level of resonance.
"Yes, we've seen photographs of the march from Selma to Montgomery, but what's really great about Matt Harron's work is how much he focuses on individual, everyday people," she said. "You'll see a mix of faces here. Some of them you may even relate to, or see yourself in some of these images."
Lampkin says current battles over mail-in voting and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision making it harder to sue to enforce a key provision of the Voting Rights Act make Harron's images all the more relevant today.
"There are also present, existing obstacles to voting," she said. "Whether that's accessibility of polling locations or challenges to mail-in voting."
Lampkin says the exhibition will be accompanied by programming exploring modern-day voting rights and other civic issues.
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