A stunning series of photographs of key players and iconic moments from the American Civil Rights movement have been expertly colorized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 on September 9.
The images feature portraits of leading influential figures of the time including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, and Jackie Robinson.
Other photographs show iconic moments from the civil rights movement.
The famous photo of Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate an all-white school, being escorted by US Marshals in New Orleans Louisiana in 1960 is shown in brilliant color.
Shots from peaceful demonstrations as well as a photograph of a black man drinking from a ‘colored’ water fountain encapsulate the segregation of the time.
Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player to integrate into a professional sport, as well as singer Sammy Davis Jr. are also featured.
Black and white photos of influential figured during the Civil Rights movement have been expertly colorized in honor of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is pictured with singer Sammy David Jr
The famous photo of Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate an all-white school is shown in brilliant color. US Marshals walked her to and from school in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1960
These photos are the work of Jared Enos and Mads Madsen. Jared said, ‘I love photography that frames a moment that can’t adequately be expressed in words, such as the image of the segregated water fountain, which I find really striking and frankly outrageous
Jackie Robinson broke racial barriers in 1947 as the first black person to play a professional sport when stepped on the baseball field as a Brooklyn Dodger. Robinson also won the National League Rookie of the Year Award his first season
These photos are the work of Jared Enos and Mads Madsen, both in their 20s, who did the colorization through a long process on a computer. Their goal is ‘to create a more tangible connection with the past through the colorization of historical photos.’
Mads, of Denmark, told Dailymail.com he spends ‘hours upon hours of researching to ensure everything is pinpoint correct, or as correct as I can possibly get it without having seen it, and then I color it in, sort of like an adult color book.’
He added that ‘atmospheric light, color itself, and a lot of research,’ is generally his work process.
Jared, from Rhode Island, spoke of the significance of the images and refers to the civil rights movements as ‘one of the most important movements to have taken place in the United States, if not the western world.’
‘Every photo presents its own unique challenge, particularly close-ups and portraits, but I invested a lot of time and effort into them all,’ Jared told Media Drum World.
‘I love photography that frames a moment that can’t adequately be expressed in words, such as the image of the segregated water fountain, which I find really striking and frankly outrageous,’ he added.
A young black girl is featured in the book Retrographic: History’s Most Exciting Images Transformed into Living Colour by Michael D. Carroll
Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was assassinated in 1965
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed on the September 9 by President Eisenhower and was the first major piece of legislation of its kind since The Civil Rights Act of 1875.
The laws gave Eisenhower’s government new powers to fight discrimination and its goal was to ensure that all Americans including blacks could exercise their right to vote.
It is said that the 1957 act kick-started the civil rights legislative program that lead to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Included in the collection are photos of Reverend King and other civil rights leaders meeting with President Kennedy after the March on Washington in 1963.
Also featured is a photo of President Lyndon B. Johnson meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders in January 1964 in the Oval Office to discuss how to address the fact that poverty afflicted blacks far more than whites.
These historic photos are accompanied by colorized images from the 19th century, WWII, classic Hollywood and more in a booked called, Retrographic: History’s Most Exciting Images Transformed into Living Colour by Michael D. Carroll that is set to release next week.
Photograph taken after the 1963 March on Washington in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders met with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office at the White House
President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders in January 1964 in the Oval Office to discuss how to address the fact that poverty afflicted blacks far more than whites
Image shows a young black girl looking at a white man wearing a hard with a Confederate Flag on it during a Civil Rights demonstration