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See 20 Photographs from the Civil Rights Movement in Color

Expert colorizer, Jordan J. Lloyd, has collaborated with photography website Unsplash to produce 20 colorized images from the Civil Rights Movement that took place in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Civil Rights Movement was mostly covered using black and white photography, and the original version of the images are available in the public domain from the Library of Congress. However, most of the videos and photographs that were originally produced in color during the Civil Rights Movement are under licenses that do not allow free use. The aim of the collaboration between Jordan Lloyd and Unsplash is to provide high-quality color photographs of a significant historical event that the public can access and use for free. All 20 photographs are available to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes for free under the Unsplash license.

The collection contains color photographs of significant figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis, Angela Davis, and more. It also contains colorizations of the March on Washington and examples of how African American people were treated prior to the Civil Rights Movement (e.g. segregation). See the 20 photographs below.

Images of Significant Figures of the Civil Rights Movement in Color

Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr in color
Color photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on August 26th, 1964.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Colorized photo of John Lewis at the age of 24 in 1964.
Colorized photograph of John Lewis speaking at a meeting of American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, D.C. on April 16th, 1964.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Colorization of a photograph of Civil Rights activist Angela Davis in 1974.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Color photo of Malcolm X in 1964
Color photograph of Malcolm X at a press conference held by Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C. on March 26th, 1964.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Color photograph of Thurgood Marshall during the Civil Rights Movement, 1957.
Colorized photo of Thurgood Marshall on September 17th, 1957 in Washington, D.C.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Colorization of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks in 1964.
Rosa Parks speaking at the Poor Peoples March at Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on June 19th, 1968.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License

Photos from The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Color

Colorization of Thousands of people at the March on Washington on the 28th August 1963.
Color photograph of the huge crowd spanning from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, during the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
MLK and Mathew Ahmann in the crowd during the March on Washington. This image has been colorized.
Civil Rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. (center) and Mathew Ahmann (2nd from left) in the crowd during the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Young women photographed at the March on Washington standing in front of a sign containing a poem dedicated to Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers, August 28th, 1963.
Young women photographed at the March on Washington standing in front of a sign containing a poem dedicated to Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
marchers at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom taken in Washington, D.C. on August 28th, 1963.
Color photograph of marchers at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom taken in Washington, D.C. on August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Color photograph of a crowd at the March on Washington showing some of the signs that were held
Colorized photograph showing a crowd displaying some of the signs shown during the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Leaders of the march on washington leading marchers down the street. This photograph has been colorized.
The leaders of the Civil Rights March on Washington, leading the marchers down the street, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Crowd at the March on Washington
Color photograph of Demonstrators in the street holding signs during the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
People sitting with their feet in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. during the Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
People sitting with their feet in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. during the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
A bus near the Washington Monument leaving after the Civil Rights March on Washington, the evening of August 28th, 1963.
A bus near the Washington Monument leaving after the Civil Rights March on Washington, the evening of August 28th, 1963.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License

Other Civil Rights Movement Photos in Color

a young boy taking a drink from a fountain in April 1938
a young boy taking a drink from a segregated drinking fountain on the country courthouse lawn in Halifax, North Carolina, April 1938.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Civil Rights demonstration in front of Picture Floor Plans Inc. located in Seattle, Washington, May 4th, 1964.
Civil Rights demonstration in front of Picture Floor Plans Inc. located in Seattle, Washington, May 4th, 1964.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
A man walking into the movie house on a Saturday afternoon using the "colored" entrance in Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939.
Colorized photo of a man walking into the movie house on a Saturday afternoon using the “colored” entrance in Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
A woman voting in the 1964 Presidential Election at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C., November 3rd, 1964.
A woman voting in the 1964 Presidential Election at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C., November 3rd, 1964.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License
Color photograph of Demonstrators protesting outside the White House in Washington, D.C., March 12th, 1965.
Color photograph of Demonstrators protesting outside the White House in Washington, D.C., March 12th, 1965.
Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd // Unsplash License

All of these photos are available to download in higher quality on The Civil Rights Movement in Color Collection on Unsplash. Be sure to follow the colorizer, Jordan J. Lloyd, on Instagram and his website.

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