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Primary sourcePhotograph1965

TWU Executive Vice-President, Matthew Guinan conferring with MLK on march from Selma to Montgomery

Reuben Ó Cuinneáin · 1965

A photograph of King speaking with labor leader Matthew Guinan during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march.

A primary photograph documenting King's alliance-building during the Selma march.

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Black-and-white photo of two men in white caps and shirts, one with a TWU lettered cap, talking closely outdoors; a man in dark-rimmed glasses and other people stand behind them, with a rope or pole in the foreground.
Reuben Ó Cuinneáin, TWU Executive Vice-President Matthew Guinan conferring with MLK on the march from Selma to Montgomery, 1965.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph taken by Reuben Ó Cuinneáin during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, showing Martin Luther King Jr. conferring with Matthew Guinan, Executive Vice-President of the Transport Workers Union.

Why it matters

The image shows how King built alliances with labor unions during the civil rights movement, connecting the march for voting rights to broader coalitions of support.

Look closer

  • What does the presence of a labor leader tell you about who supported the march?
  • What can you tell about the setting from the people and objects around the two men?
  • What does the photograph not tell you about the conversation taking place?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Luther King Jr. on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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