by Dana Canedy
First published 2017
Photo editor Darcy Eveleigh stumbles upon dozens of unpublished photographs in The New York Times archives. These images capture pivotal moments in black history that never made it to print. She teams up with colleagues Dana Canedy, Damien Cave, and Rachel L. Swarns to investigate why these powerful photographs remained hidden in what the newspaper calls the Morgue. The collection reveals Jesse Jackson at 27 leading a Chicago anti-discrimination rally, Rosa Parks entering a Montgomery courthouse, Aretha Franklin backstage at the Apollo Theater, and Ralph Ellison walking his Manhattan neighborhood. The team uncovers images of Malcolm X's firebombed home and Myrlie Evans with her children at her murdered husband Medgar's funeral. Their investigation becomes a Times series called Unpublished Black History that draws 1.7 million online views. The book expands this work to examine whether these subjects were deemed unworthy of coverage, whether timing prevented publication, or whether institutional priorities buried visual stories that deserved to be told.
Genres: 20th-century, african-american, non-fiction, 21st-century, journalism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, uncovering-hidden-history
Setting: Apollo Theater, Chicago, Manhattan, Montgomery, New York Times
Period: 1950s, 1960s
308 pages · Hardcover · Black Dog & Leventhal