Joe Alper

The American music photographer Joe Alper (1925-1968) himself became a part of the Freedom Movement in this way. Through his friendships with Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and the vocalists in The Freedom Singers, he was able to document important events in this period. Alper himself was no activist, but first and foremost a music lover. He did not go out looking for a story, but was himself a part of the society in which he photographed. His work served the social aspirations of the musicians whom he recorded, but he did so as a somewhat detached observer.