Martin Luther King and Governor Edmund G. Brown during a Freedom Rally at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on June 18, 1961.
In the early 1960s, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy symbolized hope, change, and the dawn of a new era for a country that was caught in the clutches of Cold War fear, and in many cases, clinging to certain outdated social attitudes. By the end of the decade, all three men laid slain by an assassins’ bullets, with only part of their potential realized.
The exhibit “King, the Kennedys, & Los Angeles” presents images of all three men during visits to Los Angeles for various events, including political rallies, campaign banquets, and civil rights gatherings, and explores the impact they had on the city - both in life and death.
Featuring photos exclusively from the Los Angeles Public Library’s Photo Collection, “King, the Kennedys, & Los Angeles” presents a view of the 1960s and its legacy through the lenses of photographers from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and Valley Times newspapers, along with images from local photographers William Reagh and Rolland Curtis. In some cases, the images have not been seen since they first ran in the local newspapers more than 40 years ago.
“King, the Kennedys, & Los Angeles,” not only presents the enormous impact these men had on the city, but demonstrates how library collections continue to preserve and promote the legacies of our past.