Bob Adelman photographs

[Operation Clean Sweep Demonstration on Sidewalk], 1962, v1989.22.17; Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations, v1989.22; Brooklyn Historical Society.

We were sad to hear about the recent passing of photographer and activist Bob Adelman, who extensively documented the civil rights movement in Brooklyn and the southern United States, as well as pivotal historical moments like the 1963 March on Washington. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, Mr. Adelman was a member of and photographer for Brooklyn CORE during the early 1960s when the chapter focused on many issues of racism and inequity, including the living conditions of African Americans living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. About his approach to photography, he has said, “I shot with one eye on the lens, one eye on history, and my heart with the movement.”

The photo of the week depicts demonstrators during “Operation Clean Sweep,” a 1962 protest movement addressing discriminatory sanitation policies in New York City. This photograph comes from the Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations collection. This collection is comprised of 17 black-and-white photographs depicting several civil rights demonstrations organized by the Brooklyn chapter of CORE. This collection is not fully digitized, but you can still view the photographs by making an appointment at the Othmer Library.  To learn more about Mr. Adelman, and to see additional photographs, check out this gallery and interview at the New York Times. And to read more about Brooklyn CORE and Operation Clean Sweep, check out Fighting Jim Crow in the County of Kings, a terrific book by historian Brian Purnell.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org