Marching West: The Los Angeles Civil Rights Movement in Photographs

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A black-and-white photo of a man holding a sign that reads "We Are Tired of Waiting" next to a car covered in protest slogans.

Protest Car, Los Angeles (detail), 1962; printed 2024, Harry Adams. Inkjet print. Harry Adams Archive, Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at California State University, Northridge. © Harry Adams. All rights reserved and protected

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

7pm

Getty Center & Online

Harold M. Williams Auditorium

Free

Tickets are free, but required for event entrance. Your event ticket will also serve as your Center entrance reservation. Please note, there is a fee for parking.

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About

In May 1963, Los Angeles was the site of the Freedom Rally, the largest civil rights demonstration in the city to date. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a crowd of nearly 40,000, telling them: “The most important thing that you can do is set Los Angeles free, because you have segregation and discrimination here, and police brutality.” The new Getty publication Marching West: The Los Angeles Civil Rights Movement in Photographs features dynamic stories from the civil rights era in Los Angeles and explores how photography played an integral role in advancing the fight for Black equality. Join authors Dr. Karin L. Stanford and Mark Speltz as they share images and stories from the book that reveal ties between local and national civil rights efforts.

For in-person attendees, a book signing with the authors follows the program. Limited quantities of the book Marching West will be available for purchase before and after the program.

The exhibition Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985 will be open until 6:45pm. Parking is $10 after 6pm.

    1. Dr. Karin Stanford

      Professor

      Dr. Karin Stanford is a professor of political science at California State University, Northridge. She holds a BA in political science and community services from California State University, Chico, an MA in public administration from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in political science from Howard University. She has worked on multiple publications, including Breaking the Silence: Inspirational Stories of Black Cancer Survivors (2005).

    2. Mark Speltz

      Author and Historian

      Mark Speltz is an American author and historian based in San Francisco. He received his BA in history from the University of Minnesota and his MA in public history from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He holds experience as a researcher for various museums and as a senior historian for American Girl and Wells Fargo. He has written numerous books, including North of Dixie: Civil Rights Photography Beyond the South (Getty, 2020).

    Know Before You Go

    Duration

    Approximately 1 hour.

    Planning your arrival

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    Event Check-In

    Check-in begins 90 minutes before program start time at the Harold M. Williams Auditorium.

    Doors open 30 minutes before program start time.

    Seating

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    Accessibility

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    Can’t make it?

    Shortly following this event, a recording will be available on Getty's YouTube channel under "Talks and Conversations."

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