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Did you catch John Legend’s Oscar speech? He’s not the first celebrity to use his fame to take a stand. This Black History Month, check out these amazing historical photos of celebrities who fought for Civil Rights back in the 60s.
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Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr. was at the March on Washington, a large financial supporter of the Civil Rights movement and a long-time donor to the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH.
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Marlon Brando
“I felt I’d better go find out where it is; what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about.”
Marlon Brando wasn’t just at the March on Washington where he’s pictured here, shaking hands with writer and activist James Baldwin. Brando was also a major contributor to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and established a scholarship fund for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. leader Medgar Evers.
Brando even bowed out of a major film (The Arrangement) to devote himself to the civil rights movement after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. On an episode of Inside The Actor’s Studio, actor Marin Sheen recalled:
“I’ll never forget the night that Reverend King was shot and I turned on the news and Marlon was walking through Harlem with Mayor Lindsay. And there were snipers and there was a lot of unrest and he kept walking and talking through those neighborhoods with Mayor Lindsay. It was one of the most incredible acts of courage I ever saw, and it meant a lot and did a lot.”
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Charlton Heston
This photo is of actor Charlton Heston at the 1963 march. He joined the movement saying, “I could no longer pay only lip service to a cause that was so urgently right.”
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Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was a baseball legend and first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. After Jackie changed the world of baseball, he devoted himself to the Civil Rights movement. Here he is at the March on Washington with his son.
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Peter Paul And Mary
The famous folk trio joined the March too and performed the hits If I Had a Hammer and Blowin’ in the Wind.
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Lena Horne
Lena Horne wasn’t just a triple threat. She was a civil rights activist as well. Here she is, stripped down and speaking at the March on Washington.
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Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier
Both Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier devoted themselves to civil rights. Here they are at the March on Washington with Charlton Heston.
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Gordon Parks
Did you know that Shaft‘s director was at the March on Washington too?
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Marian Anderson
The world-famous contralto and civil rights supporter Marian Anderson is pictured here christening the Booker T. Washington, the first major oceangoing vessel to be named after an African American. Later she would lend her support to Civil Rights by singing He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand at the march.
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Paul Newman
Paul Newman was also at the March on Washington. Here he is arriving with Marian Anderson, NAACP executive secretary Roy Wilkins, Rev. Robert Spike and the actress Faye Emerson.
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Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker put on her military uniform to join her place in civil rights history.
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Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee and her husband Ossie Davis weren’t just at the march, they emceed the Washington rally.
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Odetta
Singer Odetta earned the title The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement with her protest songs and activisim. She’s pictured here singing O Freedom at the March.
