Singer, actor and activist died on April 25 at the age of 96. His legacy spans stage, screen and political activism.
Highlander founder Myles Horton (right) with civil rights leader Rosa Parks and labor leader Ralph Helstein in 1957.
Nashville Banner Collection, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library
The training center, which welcomed Rosa Parks and John Lewis before they became famous, still empowers and inspires marginalized Americans to use their own voices and talents.
View of the Friendship 9 students who protested against racial discrimination and were put in prison, Rock Hill, South Carolina, February 1961.
Afro American Newspapers/Gado via Getty Images
A long-lost letter from prison by a civil rights activist provides a window on the pivotal role protesters in South Carolina played in fighting segregation.
John Lewis, right, marched with Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for equality.
Steve Schapiro / Contributor/GettyImages
Some lament that today’s anti-racism movement has no charismatic leaders like the civil rights era did. Such comparisons don’t reflect the real history of the struggle for Black equality in the US.
A protester holds up a sign with Breonna Taylor’s name. Taylor was killed by police officers on March 13.
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Young men make up the majority of black people killed by police in the US. That’s fed a perception that black women are somehow shielded from the threat of police violence. They aren’t.