One thing Allison Silberberg remembers about a day 17 years ago: She almost didn't bring her camera.
It was a hot, muggy Saturday in August 2003 and she was about to hop into her car and head to the Lincoln Memorial, where a friend was shooting video.
It was the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, when Martin Luther King, Jr. had delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. A stone etching of his words from the speech was being dedicated at the memorial and King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, was expected to attend.
Silberberg, a former mayor of Alexandria, then 40, was doing some freelance photography at the time for The Washington Post and decided at the last minute to grab her camera. “I was right at my door when I grabbed some film from my refrigerator and shoved it in my pocket.” She placed her Canon and batteries in her bag and headed out.
At the memorial, Silberberg met civil rights activist James Forman, 75. “He and I had a great conversation,” she said. “I photographed him. I thought he had such a fascinating face and history and was so dedicated to civil rights. He was a bit frail, but he was really feisty and had a lot of great positive energy. You could see the young man in the elderly man.”
As they waited for the ceremony to begin, “someone came up to Forman and said ‘We need to start moving everyone to the base of the Lincoln Memorial and Mr. Forman we need to get you up there.’ I didn't know what that meant,” Silberberg said.
Forman asked Silberberg to escort him to the spot via an elevator. “I had no idea there was an elevator in the Lincoln Memorial,” she said.
As the ceremony got underway, Forman flagged Silberberg over to some empty seats and she ended up seated in the second row. “It was a beautiful day, blue sky, big puffy white clouds...except for the heat and humidity. In 1963, people were in suits and women were in dresses and heels. People were dressed, that's what the pictures show, but that day in August 2003, I was just there hanging out in my shorts and T-shirt. I was so hot, I had poured a bottle of water over my head. I was so overheated.”
To her right was an area roped off for photographers and cameras covering the event.
“You could hear the crowd go silent and they're looking and here comes Mrs. King,” Silberberg said. “She was just so elegant, and poised and epitomized the meaning of grace and she was in a beautiful pink silk suit that I just loved the minute I saw it. And I thought ‘Wow there's Mrs. King.’ She walked right past me and sat right in front of me as I’m sitting next to Mr. Forman.”
When Mrs. King looked to her left, Silberberg saw her face in profile and thought “What a beautiful picture — with the sky and the crowd below at the Reflecting Pool,” she said, realizing she was in the perfect position to get a unique photo of King. “I guess I could...”
“I pulled all of my equipment out and was fiddling with F-stops and trying to figure it out. I was like ‘Oh God!’ and I was mumbling.” She crouched down and got five or six shots off before King turned back to face forward.
Using film, you don’t have a chance to see if you “got the shot,” but Silberberg was pretty certain she had.
She took the film to be developed in Georgetown and after picking up the prints saw that she had indeed gotten a memorable photo. Silberberg contacted Getty Images to see if they would accept it and handle licensing agreements. Although it was unusual, after seeing the photo, a Getty representative agreed nearly on the spot to accept it.
Since then, Silberberg's photo has been published extensively by many publications. The most memorable was after Mrs. King passed away in 2006, when the photo was used by Target for full-page ads the company took out in The Washington Post, The New York Times and other major metropolitan newspapers to commemorate King's service to the country.
Silberberg said she would like to see her photo of Coretta Scott King make its way into the Smithsonian or on a U.S. postage stamp.
For now, one thing’s for sure, each time she leaves the house: She’ll think twice before she leaves her camera behind.
