1953
GUSN-193936
In June 1953, Reed spent an afternoon photographing protesters in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who had been convicted in 1951 on espionage charges for passing secrets about nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union, were scheduled to be executed on June 19, 1953. The emotionally charged conflict spilled into the streets, where supporters of clemency clashed with those who favored the death penalty. A writer for Life magazine was trying to cover the story without the aid of a photographer. Seeing Reed, the reporter asked if he would be willing to cover the protests for him. Reed's acceptance marked the beginning of his six-year career as a photojournalist for Life. This particular photo shows two women carrying placards asking for clemency for the Rosenbergs as a man watches, his arms crossed.
protests
picket signs
events
black-and-white prints (photographs)
photographs
1 photograph
PC044
Verner Reed Photographic Collection, 1950-1972
PC044.TMP.007
Boston (Suffolk county, Massachusetts)
Reed, Verner, 1923-2006 (Photographer)
black-and-white prints (photographs)
photographs
Rosenberg, Ethel, 1915-1953
Rosenberg, Julius, 1918-1953
Life Magazine
Included in the exhibition, A Changing World: New England in the Photographs of Verner Reed, 1950-1972.
Item
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