MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.-Acclaimed photographer, Dr. Ernest Withers, will discuss the legacy of his business and reflect on his experiences through a slide presentation as part of a day-long celebration on Saturday, October 1 at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The festivities are being held in conjunction with the current exhibition, Ernest Withers and Memphis: Capturing A City on view through October 15, 2005. Dr. Withers' lecture will take place at 2 p.m. in the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium at the Brooks Museum in Overton Park. The lecture will be free with museum admission.

"Dr. Withers' photographs of the civil rights movement are justifiably recognized internationally because of their immediacy and power. Equally important, if less well known, are his photographs of middle class African American life in Memphis. As with the civil rights images, the rest of his subjects-births, baseball, music, funerals, parties-are shot from the intimate perspective of an insider. They also stand out for having been taken at a time when the national media featured images of African American poverty and racial violence. Dr. Withers photographs, on the other hand, provided a more balanced and nuanced view of the life of a community," states Brooks chief curator, Marina Pacini.

Prior to the lecture, the Brooks will host Ernest Withers Family Day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free family celebration will feature hands-on art and activities as well as a dance performance by Bantaba African Dance Company. Ernest Withers Family Day and lecture are sponsored by the Briggs Foundation with additional support from the International Paper Foundation.