When Cecil J. Williams first picked up a camera at nine years old, he couldn’t have imagined that decades later he’d be celebrated by folks of a whole new generation at New York Fashion Week. Yet for young people discovering his work today, they are experiencing a legend of the civil rights movement—a human rights photographer finally getting the kind of cultural spotlight he’s always deserved. His celebration signals a reawakening of the movement’s enduring spirit, as kids today come face to face with the grit—and glory—of the civil rights era.
Suggested Reading
So why is everyone thirsting over this 87-year-old icon? Well, his legacy speaks for itself.
Black Boy With A Camera
A single frame has gone down in history—a self-portrait of a young Cecil J. Williams, drinking from a segregated South Carolina water fountain, silently defying the “Whites Only” sign with fierce eye contact. Mind you, Williams didn’t start as a civil rights photographer—he started as a nine-year-old kid with a Kodak Baby Brownie camera, snapping pictures of family, neighbors, and weddings, long before he became one of South Carolina’s most important witnesses to Black history.
Williams’ lens became a sharp weapon against our erasure. While other kids were busy hitting baseballs through glass windows, he was already capturing pivotal moments in South Carolina’s civil rights movement at the ripe age of 14. He also worked professionally and freelance for publications including Jet, the Afro-American, the Pittsburgh Courier, in addition to serving as a stringer for the Associated Press by the age of 15, per Study SC.
Capturing History, One Frame at a Time
In 1963, he documented Harvey Gantt’s enrollment at Clemson University, marking the end of segregation at the university, per South Carolina ETV. He photographed the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre, where law enforcement officers opened fire on students protesting segregation at a local bowling alley, resulting in three deaths and 28 injuries, according to Claflin University. And In 1969, Williams captured the Charleston hospital workers’ strike, which was featured on the cover of JET magazine, per World of Cecil.
A born and bred resident of Orangeburg, some of Williams’ most iconic photos include a snap of Thurgood Marshall arriving in Charleston for the Briggs Vs. Elliot case in 1948, the ministers of Orangeburg marching from Trinity Church to Confederate Square for segregation, and Coretta Scott King standing alongside sisters during the hospital workers’ strike, as told by Williams during an interview with Andscape.
“The camera was a little magic box,” Williams told the outlet at that time. “From a very early age, I enjoyed creating things. I loved to draw. It seemed like I would be able to capture images.”
Up Close and Personal With JFK
Williams even befriended John F. Kennedy in New York in 1960, when the young photographer arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel with his Hasselblad camera hoping to capture something amazing. And when security grabbed him by the arms to toss him out, the 35th President of the United States saved his behind.
“Just then Sen. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy were walking toward the podium and saw this. They gave me a seat in the front row, alongside Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, top journalists at the time, while all the photographers had to stand in the back. Kennedy gave me his business card for his private address in Hyannis Port [Massachusetts] and told me to stay in touch,” Williams said, per the outlet.
“I became a close associate of his during the campaign. I got to fly with Sen. Kennedy on his private 10-seater jet while he traveled from Columbia, South Carolina, to Atlanta, Georgia, campaigning for the presidency. This meant a lot to me.”
History Meets Today
Now, at 87 years old, his hard work and dedication to his craft came full circle, as the legendary cameraman founded the Cecil J. Williams Civil Rights Museum in his hometown, ensuring that the stories he captured—and the history he lived—are preserved for generations to come. Plus, his smooth and sophisticated walk during Actively Black’s “This is Not a Fashion Show” event went viral across social media, and folks are hooked.
Other historical figures to attend included Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Coretta Scott King; Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz; Benjamin Haith Jr., creator of the Juneteenth flag; Ruby Bridges, who desegregated an elementary school in New Orleans; and the legendary duo Tommie Smith and John Carlos, known for raising their fists at the 1968 Olympics, per CBS News.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.