VCU releases rare collection of Civil Rights protests photos

Over 250 photos taken during nonviolent civil rights protests in Farmville, VA have been curated by VCU in a new digital exhibit.

April 9, 2014; 7:31 AM • by Nathan Cushing

The Freedom Now Project, a collection of 277 photos taken in Summer 1963 taken in Summer 1963, aims to show the experience of local nonviolent civil dissent. VCU curators are hoping that by putting the photos online, the public will provide any information they have about the people and locations featured in 13 photo sets.

“The photographs in the Freedom Now Project make a significant contribution to our understanding of a very important event in the history of Virginia and the nation,” said Alice Campbell, a VCU Libraries digital initiatives archivist overseeing the project. “We hope that, by opening the collection up to comments, we can learn more about the people and events depicted, thereby increasing the collection’s value for future research, and preserving a record of Americans whose persistence and bravery helped move the nation closer to the promise of justice for all.”