This is an amazing collection of photographs! During our evening stroll down Beale Street, we stopped into this gallery. It was spontaneous, and I am so glad we took the time to browse the impressive collection of photos. It really brings the Civil Rights movement to life.
I stumbled upon this collection of photos by accident and decided to stop in on a whim. I could have spent HOURS looking over every individual photo. It was quiet when I stopped in, with no other visitors and I felt bad that I was on a time crunch and couldn't full appreciate the museum. It's certainly on my list of 'to-do' on my next trip to Memphis.
We discovered this photography exhibit by chance while enjoying Beale St. We were welcomed into the establishment by friendly, knowledgable staff. The photo collections from Dr. Withers were moving and educational. So glad we experienced this historic stop on Beale Street!
The gallery was officially closed, but I peeked in the window while strolling down Beale Street and the owner spotted me and opened it up because she wants to share the photos with out-of-towners who may not get a chance to come back. The photos, along with their explanations, were very powerful and told amazing stories. I would recommend this to anyone!
My husband and I stopped into this gallery when we were walking on Beale St.. What an amazing collection! It provides great history of the Civil Rights movement and the city.
We saw an article about the Withers Gallery and were intrigued. It is on the far end of Beale Street away from the clubs and bars. The gallery concentrated on Ernest Withers’ photographs depicting the history of the Civil Rights era in America. We arrived in the evening so there weren’t many people there. That gave us the opportunity to browse the gallery at our leisure. There is no charge to see the photographs. The photographs on display were exceptionally clear. All were available for purchase.I highly recommend you spend some time visiting the gallery.
With the death of my aunt, my oldest relative in Memphis-my entire family visited the Withers Collection Museum as a tribute to her life and the rich history that was her life in Memphis. Wow! The exhibit includes sports, music, voting rights, civil rights and more. I was surprised to see photos of historical events depicting the Tent City of Fayette County which is where I now live. This exhibit is an awesome learning experience for the entire family!
My sister-in-Law just happened to walk into the Museum when we were walking down Beale Street in Memphis, TN. We were met by a very nice young man, who gaves us a very well informed tour of the photographs he had displayed. We had visited Graceland and Sun Studios, and the Lorraine Motel that weekend, but we were so moved by the pictures and the stories told by this young man, only to find out that the tour we were given about the Ernest Withers Collection, was in fact , given to us by Dr. Withers Grandson. This is a MUST see on your list when in the Memphis area. Ask for Ernest Sawyer, he is wonderful!!!!!
I studied Photojournalism so I already knew I wanted to go see this exhibit. I was not disappointed. There was only one other couple there and they were ending their tour. I feel like we got royal treatment by the staff (at least one of whom I wonder if he was related to Withers, but he did not indicate so). I think this is the heartbeat to Beale street's history aside from Handy Park. We were on a time crunch to make a 5 and 1/2 hour drive so the only thing I was upset with was this did not open until 4pm. But I was so happy to be able to go. Wonderfully run and please please please DONATE. I can not think of anywhere else you can see a collection like this for free.
Just an amazing photographic gallery. Withers captured some very memmorable monents in time. I would go again and I would recommend this gallery to others.