“I had a baptism of fire deep inside SNCC. At 22 I began to become what I was searching for. I felt I was creating reality itself, and that my reality was a better world.” — Danny Lyon
Our guest Friday, was author, photojournalist, & filmmaker, Danny Lyon whose camera captured the history of SNCC and the 60’s Civil Rights Movement.
Danny, who was born in 1942 in New York, is one of the most influential documentary photographers of his generation. While still a student at the University of Chicago, he was imprisoned in the South and became the first photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). His photographs formed the core of the book "The Movement."
Upon returning to Chicago in 1965, he joined the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club. The two years he spent with the club resulted in the publication of a groundbreaking book, "The Bikeriders" which inspired a new film.
In 1967, Lyon gained access to the Texas prison system and produced the series "Conversations with the Dead."
Danny’s new book, This Is My Life I’m Talking About, (Damiani Books) is widely available and you can get a signed copy at 3 p.m. today at Danny’s book chat with Bill Ayers at Seminary Coop, 5751 S. Woodlawn in Hyde Park.
You can listen to this episode of Hitting Left here.
Friday’s Music
Turn Me Around by Mavis Staples
1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson