1. Ernest Withers documented over 60 years of African-American history in the segregated Southern United States, with iconic images of the Montgomery bus boycott; Emmett Till; Memphis sanitation strike; Negro league baseball; and musicians, including those related to Memphis blues and Memphis soul.
Ernest Columbus Withers was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Arthur Withers and Pearl Withers of Marshall County, Mississippi; he had a step-mother known as Mrs Minnie Withers.
Ernest Withers took his first photograph in high school after his sister gave him a camera she received from a classmate.
Ernest Withers met his wife Dorothy Curry of Brownsville, Tennessee, at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Ernest Withers had a second daughter from Memphis, Tennessee, named Frances Williams.
Ernest Withers enjoyed traveling, visiting family members and entertaining guests at his home, including Brock Peters, Jim Kelly, Eartha Kitt, Alex Haley, Ivan van Sertima, Stokley Carmichael, and many others from the entertainment world and black consciousness movement.
Ernest Withers attended Gospel Temple Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
Ernest Withers was an all-round sports enthusiast.
Ernest Withers was active for approximately 60 years, with his most noted work being the images captured of the Civil Rights Movement.
Ernest Withers appeared in a TV documentary about the murdered 14-year-old entitled The American Experience: The Murder of Emmett Till.
Ernest Withers served as official photographer for Stax Records for 20 years.
In 2007, Ernest Withers died from the complications of a stroke in his hometown of Memphis.
The FBI documents start in 1946 with the FBI investigating Ernest Withers as a possible communist, as he was a member of the United Negro Allied Veterans of America after serving in World War II, and the group was alleged by the FBI at the time to have communist ties.
The Museum features images of Ernest Withers spanning the eras of his work, while the complete archive is held in an offsite location.