Withers Collection Museum & Gallery

Welcome to the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, the Memphis museum of photography that shares historically important photos honoring civil rights and black history.

With a mission to ‘educate the public about the history we treasure’, the Withers Collection proudly displays 60 years of African American history captured by one man: Dr. Ernest C Withers. Withers was the most famous African American photographer of his time, with personal close relationships with men such as James Meredith and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was able to capture photos of key civil rights events such as the Mongomery Bus Boycott and Memphis sanitation workers strike.

He photographed more than just these events though, he also worked closely with the Negro Baseball League getting pictures of such men as Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson, as well as several Beales Street jazz and blues musicians.

Students and teachers will want to participate in the History Awareness Program, which provides school groups with a tour of the facility, a short film over Dr. Withers, and a Q&A session with a museum staff member.