Spider Martin

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James "Spider" Martin (born 1939 in Blount Springs- (died April 8, 2003) at age 64. Spider was an American photographer.

He was best known for his civil rights photography which included the March 1965 beating of marchers in the Selma to Montgomery march, known as “Bloody Sunday”, this is the pivotal event that influenced LBJ’s signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which added thousands of Southern blacks to the voting rolls.

Spider believed because of his small stature, just over five feet tall, that he was able to canvas through a crowd to get some of his best close-ups.

Spider’s photographs are on display in the Smithsonian and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. He was also a published photography in Life magazine and Saturday Evening Post.

A selection of his work was exhibited in the Cannon Rotunda in Washington, D.C. in honor of all who sacrificed in the historical and infamous NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery.

[edit] Upcoming

April 5 2007-- The late Alabama photographer Spider Martin and his Civil Rights Movement experiences Birmingham Civil Rights Institute This series will feature an exhibit of 48 photographs by Spider Martin taken during the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965.

[edit] Quotes

Spider Martin photographed some of the most significant events in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in this country. His monumental work drew national attention to the quest for voting rights for African-Americans and preserved for all time the struggle and the glory of those involved. But Mr. Martin was more than a witness; he was a participant, a continual presence in Selma and a marcher alongside others who made the four-day trek to Montgomery. In drawing national attention to the often violent events surrounding the march, Mr. Martin became a target of intimidation and violence himself. -Steven Ford Brown.
Speaking to Spider-If it wasn't for guys like you shooting the pictures, we could have marched and protested forever, but you guys showed the world what it was really like. -Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Only when the New York Times and CBS News came to Alabama and shined the bright spotlight of national publicity on the events did the local press begin to cover the news -Spider Martin.