Magnum Photos Blog

From the Archive 

Bernie Sanders: Student Activist 

February 12, 2016 
by Danny Lyon 
By February, 1962 Danny Lyon had made four trips to the deep south as a Civil Rights activist, working as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). At this time he had returned to his school, the University of Chicago, where he was considered the “campus photographer”, and participated in what is known as the first sit-in to occur in the north as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

Organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the demonstration was staged in opposition to the university’s segregated campus housing policy. The leader of the sit-in was 20-year old Bernie Sanders. Speaking during the demonstration, Sanders said “"We feel it is an intolerable situation when Negro and white students of the university cannot live together in university-owned apartments.”

Tragically, Danny Lyon’s negatives were lost many years ago but he did retain the contact sheets that feature some images of the now-presidential candidate’s earliest work as a social activist.

<a href='http://www.magnumphotos.com/Package/2K1HRGPQZ9LQ' target='_blank'>Click here</a> to access the scans of the contact sheets for licensing request.