Confrontation at the Bridge
1976
This print looks back at one of the defining events of the civil rights movement: the 1955 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama—a distance of about fifty miles—to register Black voters. As the marchers attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge just outside of Selma, they were stopped by police and their vicious dogs. In Jacob Lawrence’s inspirational interpretation, these activists emerge as emblems of human strength and fortitude in the face of police brutality and racism. Striding forth with purpose as dark clouds gather, they are undeterred by an aggressive K9’s bared teeth and angry growls.
Screenprint
19 x 25 1/2 in. (48.3 x 64.8 cm)
Gift of the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2009.52.62
Photo: Elizabeth Mann