Religious News Service Photographs

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About this Collection

Conceived by journalist Louis Minsky (1909-1957), Religious News Service (RNS) was established in 1934 as an affiliated but independently managed agency of the National Conference of Jews and Christians (later the National Conference of Christians and Jews), and was dedicated to providing authoritative and bias-free news about religion and ethics to both the secular and religious press. This collection contains photographs documenting Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish groups. Coverage of Protestants (especially mainline Protestants) and Catholics constitutes the bulk of the images. View the collection guide to learn more. Digitization of some of the images in this collection made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Featured image: Father James Groppi, the civil rights activist priest from Milwaukee, and militant leader Rennie Davis are taken into custody during an anti war demonstration a block from the White House.

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Title:
Alabama clergymen confer with president.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29929 ALABAMA CLERGYMEN CONFER WITH PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Six Alabama clergymen who conferred with President Kennedy on the racial strife in Birmingham are shown as they arrived at the White House. Left to right, they are: Father Joseph C. Allen of the Mobile-Birmingham Catholic diocese; The Rev. Earl Stallings, pastor of First Baptist church, Birmingham; Rabbi Milton L. Grafman of Temple Emanu-el, Birmingham; Bishop Coadjutor George M. Murray of the Alabama Protestant Episcopal diocese; Methodist Bishop Nolan B. Harmon, whose jurisdiction includes the North Alabama Conference; and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Durick of the Mobile-Birmingham Catholic diocese. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-Wn-9D-63-W)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., Allen, Joseph C., Catholic Church--Clergy., Stallings, Earl., Grafman, Milton L., 1907-1995., Murray, George M., Episcopal Church--Bishops., Harmon, Nolan B. (Nolan Bailey), 1892-, Methodist Church (U.S.)--Bishops., Durick, Joseph A. (Joseph Aloysius), 1914-1994., Catholic Church--Bishops.
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, Ala., 1963., Clergy--Washington (D.C.), African American clergy--Washington (D.C.), Bishops--Washington (D.C.), Rabbis--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Alabama., Civil rights--Religious aspects.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Alabama--Race relations.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:358132
Title:
Leaders of march visit White House.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29806 LEADERS OF MARCH VISIT WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representatives of religious, civic, labor and civil rights groups chat on the White House lawn before a meeting with President Kennedy which followed the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. From left are: Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Floyd B. McKissick, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, who marched in place of CORE president, James Farmer, who remained in Louisiana where he had been jailed in a rights protest; Mathew Ahmann, executive director of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice; Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and acting chairman of the National Council of Churches’ Commission on Religion and Race; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress; A. Philip Randolph, director of the March on Washington and founder and president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; and John Lewis, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-DC-8E-63-NBM)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), White House (Washington, D.C.), Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981., National Association for the Advancement of Colored People., McKissick, Floyd B. (Floyd Bixler), 1922-1991., Congress of Racial Equality., Ahmann, Mathew H., National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice., Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Commission on Religion and Race., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., American Jewish Congress., Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979., Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters., Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.), Lewis, John, 1940-2020.
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil right workers--Washington (D.C.), Labor leaders--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:358123
Title:
The Washington march -- 200,000 strong.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29802 THE WASHINGTON MARCH -- 200,000 STRONG WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About 100,000 were expected…more than twice that many came to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Early in the morning the pace of arrivals was slow. A happy, picnic atmosphere began to build around the base of the Washington Monument (in background). Then, near noon, caravans of buses that had been jamming outlying highways began to pour into the city. By the time the March started, a steady flow of people was pouring down Constitution and Independence Avenues. They jammed around the front of the Lincoln Memorial, lined the edges of the long reflecting pool, and listened to Freedom songs, entertainers and speakers. In the March and during the ceremonies, the presence of religious groups was vividly evident. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-DC-8E-63-NBM)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.)
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.), Picketing--Washington (D.C.)
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:358122
Title:
National anthem opens Washington march program.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: P-29811 NATIONAL ANTHEM OPENS WASHINGTON MARCH PROGRAM WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A young Negro usher, holding cap at right, stands solemnly with religious, civil rights and labor leaders on the platform in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the national anthem at the opening of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom program. Five of the 10 chairmen of the March also on the platform were, from left to right: Whitney M. Young Jr., executive director of the National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Walter P. Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers Union; Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., and acting chairman of the National Council of Churches’ Commission on Religion and Race; and, second from right, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (1-NY-9A-63-NBM)
Creator:
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. (publisher)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968., Young, Whitney M., Reuther, Walter, 1907-1970., Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Commission on Religion and Race., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., National Urban League., Southern Christian Leadership Conference., International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America., American Jewish Congress., Spike, Robert W. (Robert Warren)
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Labor movement--United States--20th century., National songs--United States., Labor leaders--Washington (D.C.), Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:358097
Title:
National anthem opens Washington march program.
Creator:
Religious News Service. (author)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968., Young, Whitney M., Reuther, Walter, 1907-1970., Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Commission on Religion and Race., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., National Urban League., Southern Christian Leadership Conference., International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America., American Jewish Congress., Spike, Robert W. (Robert Warren)
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Labor movement--United States--20th century., National songs--United States., Labor leaders--Washington (D.C.), Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:357927
Title:
The president and 'March' leaders.
Description:
Alternate caption when the photo was reissued in November 1963 on the occasion of President Kennedy's death.
Creator:
Religious News Service. (author)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), Oval Office (White House, Washington, D.C.), Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963., Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973., McKissick, Floyd B. (Floyd Bixler), 1922-1991., King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968., Young, Whitney M., Reuther, Walter, 1907-1970., Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., Ahmann, Mathew H., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979., Lewis, John, 1940-2020., Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963--Assassination.
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights workers--Washington (D.C.), Labor leaders--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Presidents--United States.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:357746
Title:
March leaders confer with president.
Description:
The March chairmen spent an hour with the Chief Executive following the demonstration which drew over 200,000 people to the capital. Shown here, from left, are: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Floyd B. McKissick, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality; Matthew Ahmann, executive director of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice; Whitney M. Young Jr., executive director of the National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., founder and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; John Lewis (in rear), chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress; Dr. Eugene Carson Blake (in rear), chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and acting chairman of the National Council of Churches' Commission on Religion and Race; A. Philip Randolph, founder and president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, director of the March; President Kennedy, and Walter P. Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers Union.
Subject names:
Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963., Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973., McKissick, Floyd B. (Floyd Bixler), 1922-1991., Young, Whitney M., Lewis, John, 1940 February 21-, Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), Religious News Service--Archives.
Topics:
Civil rights--Religious aspects., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.)--1960-1970.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:12190
Title:
Eugene Carson Blake arrested.
Description:
Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., is shown as he enter[s] a police van after being arrested in an attempt to integrate [the Gwynn Oak] white-only amusement park just outside Baltimore. Dr. Blake and 35 other clergymen--Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish, Negro and white--were among 283 persons arrested, jailed and then released on bond.
Creator:
Curry, James E. (photographer), United Press International. (photographer)
Subject names:
Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., Religious News Service--Archives.
Topics:
Civil rights demonstrations--Maryland--Gwynn Oak--20th century., Segregation--Maryland--Gwynn Oak--20th century., African Americans--Civil rights--Maryland--Gwynn Oak--20th century., Civil rights--Religious aspects.
Geographic subjects:
Gwynn Oak (Baltimore, Md.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:7398
Title:
Banner proclaims religious support for march.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29804 BANNER PROCLAIMS RELIGIOUS SUPPORT FOR MARCH WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Religious participation the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom exceeded all expectation. In addition to many banners and signs designating specific religious groups, many churchmen and women marched as Protestants, Catholics and Jews, united in their support of full equality for all American citizens. More than half of the identifying signs in the March were those of churches, synagogues and related agencies. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-DC-8E-63-NBM)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.)
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Picketing--Washington (D.C.)
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:7390
Title:
Religious leaders greet woman in famed 'bus' case.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29797 RELIGIOUS LEADERS GREET WOMAN IN FAMED ‘BUS’ CASE WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Three religious leaders participating in the March on Washington, greet a Negro woman whose arrest made headlines in 1955. Mrs. Rosa Parks is shown with, left to right, Father John F. Cronin of the Social Action Department, National Catholic Welfare Conference; Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.; and Rabbi Joachin Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress. In 1955, Mrs. Parks was arrested when she refused to obey a bus driver’s order to give her seat to a white person. Her case was one of several that aroused the nation, helped weld Negroes and white in campaigns that culminated in the March on Washington. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-WN-8E-63-W)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., American Jewish Congress., Cronin, John F. (John Francis), 1908-1994., National Catholic Welfare Conference. Social Action Department., Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005.
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Montgomery Bus Boycott, Montgomery, Ala., 1955-1956., Civil rights workers--Washington (D.C.), Clergy--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Rabbis--Washington (D.C.)
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:7253
Title:
March leaders confer with president.
Description:
Text transcribed from caption: PC-29807 MARCH LEADERS CONFER WITH PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Strong bi-partisan support will be necessary to push civil rights legislation through Congress, President Kennedy told leaders of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The March chairmen spent an hour with the Chief Executive following the demonstration which drw over 200,000 people to the capital. Shown here, for left, are: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Floyd B. McKissick, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality; Mathew Ahmann, executive director of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice; Whitney M. Young Jr., executive director of the National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., founder and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; John Lewis (in rear), chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress; ; Dr. Eugene Carson Blake (in rear), chief executive officer of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and acting chairman of the National Council of Churches’ Commission on Religion and Race; A. Philip Randolph, founder and president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, director of the March; President Kennedy, and Walter P. Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers Union. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (SM-DC-8E-63-NBM)
Creator:
Muse, Seth H., 1912-1976. (photographer)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), Oval Office (White House, Washington, D.C.), Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963., Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973., McKissick, Floyd B. (Floyd Bixler), 1922-1991., King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968., Young, Whitney M., Reuther, Walter, 1907-1970., Blake, Eugene Carson, 1906-1985., Ahmann, Mathew H., Prinz, Joachim, 1902-1988., Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979., Lewis, John, 1940-2020.
Topics:
Civil rights movements--United States., Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights workers--Washington (D.C.), Labor leaders--Washington (D.C.), Civil rights--Religious aspects., Presidents--United States.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:7220
Title:
Clergy Lead Civil Rights Washington March.
Description:
Religious, labor and civil rights leaders from New York City came to the nation's capital for a March on Washington to urge early passage of the civil rights bill without "crippling amendments." Some of the 1200 marchers are shown arriving at Union Station.
Creator:
United Press International. (photographer)
Subject names:
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.), Religious News Service--Archives.
Topics:
Civil rights demonstrations--Washington (D.C.)--1960-1970., Civil rights--Religious aspects.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:7115

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