Danny Lyon collection, 1963-2022

Source Collection

This digital collection comprises selected materials from the following archival collection at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library:

Danny Lyon collection 1950s-2021

Collection #RL.13021 | 26 Linear Feet; 974 Gigabytes

ABSTRACT
Danny Lyon (1942- ) is a photographer, writer, and filmmaker originally from New York. The collection contains photographs and other writings created while Lyon served as a staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) between 1962-1964, later materials related to his books and films about the civil rights movement and its leaders, his time spent documenting Texas prisons between 1967-1968, and later projects related to several of the prisoners he met during his time in Texas. Materials related to Lyon's engagement with SNCC span 1963-2021 and include various photographs, correspondence, printed ephemera, manuscripts, clippings, audiovisual materials, and other assorted files showcasing SNCC activities, civil rights marches, protests, demonstrations, and violence and discrimination against African Americans. Materials related to Lyon's work with Texas prisons span from 1950s-2011 and include photographs, correspondence, collected prison records and mugshots, legal files, clippings, manuscripts, drafts and maquettes, artwork, audiovisual materials, and other assorted files depicting the experiences of prisoners in several units of the Texas Department of Corrections (now the Texas Department of Criminal Justice) between 1967-1968, and several prisoners afterwards in several books published by Lyon including Conversations with the Dead, The Autobiography of Billy McCune, and Like a Thief's Dream. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts and the John Hope Franklin Center for African and American History and Culture.

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