Ernest Withers, one of the most prominent photographers of the civil rights movement, chronicled the Emmett Till trial in 1955. He rode alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on one of the first integrated bus rides in Montgomery, Alabama, and documented the “I Am A Man” sanitation workers’ strike here in 1968. He photographed civil rights leaders, sports stars, and famous musicians, but also everyday Memphians — capturing their struggles and victories in the 1950s and 1960s.
When Withers passed away in 2007, he left behind a collection of nearly two million of these photos. Now, many of them are set to be preserved and digitized, as part of a collaboration with a Sacramento-based organization.
According to a press release, the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery — located at 333 Beale Street — is partnering with the 1687 Club, an NFT (non-fungible token) membership club that uses Web3 technology to produce and support projects focused on social good. It’s working with the Withers Collection Museum to create The Withers Art Project, which combines Withers’ photos with hand-painted elements and computer technology to make a collection of NFTs.
These NFTs will be sold, and proceeds are set to go to the museum, so it can continue to preserve Withers’ work — a task that isn’t easy. Preserving, digitizing, and cataloging his immense collection takes a significant amount of resources, and it must be done in a timely manner. The original prints and films are “delicate and at risk,” the release said, and as time passes, the chances of them being lost increases.
In recent years, NFTs have become increasingly popular.
For example, local startup Youdle, which was founded by former Action News 5 anchor Kontji Anthony, is giving NFTs to its early investors.
“Our first investors will all receive minted NFTs,” she told MBJ in July, “As a collectible to show that they are people who first believed in us.”
And University of the People — the online nonprofit school that serves about 117,000 refugees — confers graduates with digital diplomas via NFTs.
