1963 March on Washington Mystery Girl Identified in New 威尼斯人娱乐场 Video Short
Press Release 路 Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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Washington, DC鈥n August 28, 1963, a photographer working for the United States Information Agency (USIA) took a picture which has become an iconic image of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The photograph, in the holdings of the 威尼斯人娱乐场, is of a young African-American girl, holding a March on Washington banner and concentrating intently on the scene before her. The image has been reproduced countless times in history books, on calendars and most recently in the National Park Service brochure for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC.
The identity of the little girl was always a mystery 鈥� until now.
Her story is told in a new 3:05 minute Inside the Vaults video short produced by the 威尼斯人娱乐场 to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. .
Edith Lee-Payne of Detroit, Michigan, celebrated her 12th birthday by attending the March on Washington with her mother. She had no idea she had been photographed, let alone that over the years her face had become so well-known. Recently her sister saw the photograph in a calendar celebrating African-American history. She told Ms. Lee-Payne, who says she is still 鈥渋n shock.鈥� Also appearing in the video is 威尼斯人娱乐场 supervisory archivist Ed McCarter and the photographer to whom the image is attributed, Rowland Scherman. In addition to the famous image of Ms. Lee-Payne, many other USIA photos from that day are shown.
Background on 鈥淚nside the Vaults鈥�
鈥淚nside the Vaults鈥� is part of the ongoing effort by the 威尼斯人娱乐场 to make its collections, stories, and accomplishments more accessible to the public. 鈥淚nside the Vaults鈥� gives voice to Archives staff and users, highlights new and exciting finds at the Archives, and reports on complicated and technical subjects in easily understandable presentations. Earlier topics include the conservation of the original Declaration of Independence, the new Grace Tully collection of documents at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library, the transfer to the 威尼斯人娱乐场 of the Nuremberg Laws, and the launch of a new 威尼斯人娱乐场 user-friendly search engine. The film series is free to view and distribute on our YouTube channel at: http://tiny.cc/Vaults
Created by a former broadcast network news producer, the "Inside the Vaults" video shorts series presents 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥� exclusives and offer surprising glimpses of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 treasures. These videos are in the public domain and not subject to any copyright restrictions. The 威尼斯人娱乐场 encourages the free distribution of them.
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