A key figure of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s, Doris Derby (American, 1939-2022) was a photographer, activist, organizer, and educator whose photographs are distinct within the visual record of the movement. Unlike the dramatic images of protests and police brutality that galvanized many Americans in support of racial justice, including Derby, her photographs document the grassroots efforts to improve the lives of Southern Black Americans.
At age 23, Derby moved to Mississippi to work within the movement; between 1963 and 1972, she quietly and insightfully photographed cooperatives, crafting and quilting guilds, healthcare programs, and adult literacy classes, emphasizing rarely seen aspects of the movement that did not make headlines and giving prominence to the unsung but vital role of women in activism of the era. While many photojournalists documenting the movement were outside observers, often White men from the North, Derby was a true insider: She photographed with deep familiarity the many programs and organizations she founded while working daily within various communities in the South. This exhibition will feature more than seventy-five of her photographs, as well as archival materials, highlighting her unparalleled archive of the Civil Rights Movement expressing determination, struggle and connection.
