In May 1963 news photographer Charles Moore was on hand to document the
Children's Crusade, a civil rights protest. But the photographs he took
that day did more than document an event; they helped change history.
His photograph of a trio of African-American teenagers being slammed
against a building by a blast of water from a fire hose was especially
powerful. The image of this brutal treatment turned Americans into
witnesses at a time when hate and prejudice were on trial. It helped
rally the civil rights movement and energized the public, making civil
rights a national problem needing a national solution. And it paved the
way for Congress to finally pass laws to give citizens equal rights
regardless of the color of their skin.