A presentation of various Pulitzer Prize-winning images, the stories behind them and some of the impact they had on American society. The presentation was created by students in the master's degree program at Kent State University for students looking to get a degree in teaching scholastic journalism. https://www.kent.edu/csj/online-masters-degree-journalism-educators-0 All images remain copyrighted by the original photographer.

1. Moments in
Photojournalism
History
Produced by students in
“Teaching Photojournalism” at Kent State University
Bradley Wilson, Ph.D., and Candace Bowen, instructors

2. Moments in
Photojournalism
History
All images remain copyrighted by the original
photographers and are included here
for classroom use only.
Some viewers may find some of these images disturbing.

3. Death Leap
From Blazing Hotel
Photographer: Arnold Hardy,
Associated Press
Date published: Dec. 7, 1946
Notes: Kevin Peters

4. Summary: In the early morning hours of December 7, 1946 the
Winecoff Hotel in downtown Atlanta was engulfed in flames. The
hotel is 15 stories high but it lacks fire escapes, fire doors, and
fire stairs. Because guests on the higher floors had no way out,
many of them leapt to their deaths. The photographer, Arnold
Hardy, arrived to the scene shortly after 4 a.m. He heard a
woman screaming as she leapt from the 11th floor. As she passed
the third floor, Hardy took a picture of her before she hit the
pavement. Remarkably, she survived the fall with several broken
bones. Overall 119 lost their lives in the fire, including the owner.
This was the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
Death Leap
From Blazing Hotel

5. Importance: This image is profound because it truly captures
the moment of desperation of the woman leaping from the
building. The photographer, Arnold Hardy, a Georgia Tech
student, just happened to be at the right place and right time to
capture the photo. “I came upon it all at once. Fire was raging
from the upper floors. From almost every window, men, women
and children screamed for help.” This fire was particularly
notable because of all the people who jumped to their deaths.
This photo truly encapsulates that issue. Many people were left
with no choice but to jump. As Hardy watches, he hears a
woman shriek. "I looked up, raising my camera. A woman was
plummeting downward. As she passed the third floor, I fired,
using my last flashbulb.” — Kevin Peters
Death Leap
From Blazing Hotel

7. Assassination
of Asanuma
Photographer: Yasushi Nagao
Date published: Oct. 12, 1960
Notes: Jacob Wilken
Seventeen-year-old Otoya Yamaguchi
uses a foot-long sword to kill Japan
Socialist Party leader Inejiro Asanuma, on
a public stage in Tokyo.

8. Assassination
of Asanuma
Summary: During election season in Japan in 1950, Socialist Party
Chairman Inejiro Asanuma debated Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda.
Asanuma was critical of Japan's mutual defense treaty with the U.S.
which upset conservative students viewing the debate. As students
began heckling, shouting and throwing wads of paper at Asanuma
the attention of the police and the press turned to the crowd. In the
chaos a student charged the stage with a sword and stabbed
Asanuma. The student pulled out the blade and as he prepared to
stab Asanuma a second time through the heart, Yasushi Nagao
captured this image for United Press International.

9. Assassination
of Asanuma
Importance: This image is an example of tumultuous
Japanese politics after the American occupation of Japan
following World War II. It shines a light on how divisive the
relationship between America and Japan was to the citizens of
Japan. On a larger scale, it is an example of the divisiveness of
politics in general, and the extremes that people will go to for
their beliefs. For photographers, it is a lesson in awareness,
not being so distracted by the surroundings that you lose site
of the story unfolding in front of you. — Jacob Wilken

11. The Kiss of Life
Photographer: Rocco Morabito,
Jacksonville Journal
Date published: July 17, 1967
Notes: Heather Pullam

12. Summary: Morabito was passing by when he heard yelling,
looked up, and saw a lineman, Randall Champion, hanging upside
down. A second lineman, J.D. Thompson, ran to the pole, climbed
up, and performed rescue breathing. Champion lived!
The Kiss of Life

13. Importance: This photo tells a compelling story. It is timely and
demonstrates excellent photography skills. This image spoke to
me because it showcases the value of human life and the
humanitarian spirit that is alive in our society. — Heather
Pullam
The Kiss of Life

14. Deep Sorrow
Photographer: Moneta Sleet
Date taken: April 9, 1968
Notes: Lisa Evans

15. Summary: This photograph was taken at Martin Luther King Jr’s
funeral service. This is a photograph of his wife Coretta Scott King and
their daughter. The photographer, Moneta Sleet, originally was outside
of the funeral service until Scott King insisted that if Sleet was not
allowed into the church then no other photographers would be
allowed in either. Sleet was the only black photographer. Sleet said, “I
looked over and saw Mrs. King consoling her daughter. I was
photographing the child as she was fidgeting on her mama’s lap.
Professionally I was doing what I had been trained to do, and I was
glad of that because I was very involved emotionally. If I hadn't been
there working, I would have been off crying like everybody else.”
Deep Sorrow

16. Importance: The historical value of this image depicts the
somber moment during one of our history's memorable events
the funeral after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. This
picture also won Moneta Sleet a Pulitzer Prize making him the
first Black photographer to receive the award. — Lisa Evans
Deep Sorrow

18. Kent State University
Massacre
Photographer: John Paul Filo
Date taken: May 4, 1970
Notes: Patrick Leene
Mary Ann Vecchio kneels over the
body of the student Jeffrey Miller,
who was killed by Ohio National
Guard troops during an anti-war
demonstration at Kent State
University on May 4, 1970.

19. Summary: After 15 years, the United States' involvement in the
Vietnam War was still growing, and back home, Americans were
showing their disapproval. Under the Nixon administration in 1970,
the neutral nation of Cambodia was invaded by American troops,
escalating tensions further and leading to a nationwide student strike
that took place at colleges and universities across the country. At Kent
State University, the Students for a Democratic Society led the charge,
staging sit-ins and walkouts, drafting a list of demands, and clashing
with local police. On May 4, another demonstration was planned for
the school's Commons, and the National Guard was again brought in to
disperse the crowd. At 12:24 p.m., Sgt. Myron Pryor turned and fired
his pistol on the crowd of students, causing at least 29 of the 77
guardsmen present to fire their weapons. Four students were killed
and nine were wounded.
Kent State University
Massacre

20. Importance: Taken by student photojournalist John Filo, this photo
immediately creates emotion in the viewer and captures a sad
moment in American history. This photo is made all the more
powerful by the similar events happening in the U.S. today. While this
moment happened 50 years ago, we are still experiencing much of
the same political and emotional reactions to protests as occurred on
the campus of KSU in 1970, and people are still dying as a result. I
can't help but wonder how reaction to this photo would differ — or
perhaps, remain much the same — should it have been taken and
published today. — Patrick Leene
Kent State University
Massacre

21. Sidebar: I find this photo of historical value because it was the
subject of an alteration that has caused lasting controversy. Not long
after the publication of this photo, an anonymous editor airbrushed
the fence post that appears above Vecchio's head out of the image.
Numerous publications, including Time and People, published the
doctored photo. Consequently, this photo represents not only the
importance of photojournalism and student journalism, but also the
dangers of altering a photograph. — Patrick Leene
READ MORE: https://petapixel.com/2012/08/29/the-kent-state-massacre-
photo-and-the-case-of-the-missing-pole/
Kent State University
Massacre
Original image
Most commonly published version

23. The Soiling
of Old Glory
Photographer: Stanley Foreman,
Boston Herald American
Date published: April 6, 1976
Notes: Melissa Steininger
200 white students demonstrate against
plans to bus children to integrate the city's
schools in front of Boston City Hall. One
student assaults Theodore Landsmark,
executive director of the Contractor's
Association of Boston

24. Summary: Stanley Foreman captured this moment at Boston’s
City Hall as a group of 200 white students, young men and
women, protested against plans to integrate the city's school
bus system. In the photo, the American Flag, the symbol of our
country’s liberty and freedom, was used as a weapon of racial
hatred. There were a lot of these protests happening in Boston
at the time, as the city had made a major effort to desegregate
the schools. The Black man who was attacked, Ted Landsmark,
was a 29-year-old lawyer at the time, unknowingly passing the
protest. Police officers eventually controlled the situation.
The Soiling
of Old Glory

25. Importance: At first glance, this photo resembles the images of
today’s unrest seen throughout this country. Not only does this
picture of the busing crisis capture an ugly moment of the civil
rights movement, it shows how the push for change hasn't
always been peaceful. Our history books often depict the civil
rights movement as peaceful and quiet. We often forget the
blood shed and the lives lost to that historic movement. This
picture shows the resistance the Black community has faced in
the fight for equality and justice. It captures the hatred and
division seen 40 years ago and is still present in our country
today. — Melissa Steininger
The Soiling
of Old Glory

27. Assassination Attempt
on President Reagan
Photographer: Ron Edmonds
Date published: March 30, 1981
Notes: Elizabeth Pinkham
U.S. President Ronald Reagan winces
and raises his left arm as he was shot by
an assailant as he left a Washington hotel,
March 30, 1981, after making a speech to
a labor group. The president was shot in
the upper left side.

28. Assassination Attempt
on President Reagan
Summary: On March 30, 1981, Ron Edmonds waited outside
of the Washington Hilton Hotel to photograph President
Ronald Reagan leaving the hotel. As Edmonds put his finger on
the trigger, shots rang out. John Hinckley Jr. fired six total shots
at the president

29. Assassination Attempt
on President Reagan
Importance: This image documents a historical event in
American history as Edmonds captured one of two presidents
who have been injured in attempted assassinations. As
photographers, even when your photographs seem planned,
you still don't necessarily know what is going to happen and
what your photo is going to turn out like. “You never know
what is going to happen until it does,” Edmonds said.
“Fortunately, I pushed all the right buttons.” — Elizabeth
Pinkham

31. Sudan
Famine
Photographer: Kevin Carter
Date published: March 26, 1993
Notes: Laura Minerva
A little girl, weakened from hunger, collapsed
recently along the trail to a feeding center in
Ayod. Nearby, a vulture waited.

32. Sudan Famine
Summary: Photographer Kevin Carter traveled to Sudan to
cover the country’s famine. In the village of Ayod, Carter
photographed this toddler, who collapsed on his way to a
United Nations feeding center, when a vulture landed near.
Carter scared the vulture away and watched the child continue
on to the center.

33. Sudan Famine
Importance: This image is historically significant because it
captures the famine’s impact. Although most people were
aware of the famine, when this photo ran in The New York
Times, readers wanted to know about the fate of the toddler
(drawing more attention to the crisis). The photo was used to
help raise money for famine relief.
Carter, who received widespread criticism for not intervening,
took his life a few months after this photo was taken. — Laura
Minerva

35. Oklahoma
City Bombing
Photographer: Charles Porter IV
Date taken: April 19, 1995
Notes: Stephen Green Oklahoma City firefighter Chris
Fields holds Baylee Almon on
April 19, 1995.

36. Oklahoma City Bombing
Summary: Timothy McVeigh blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City in a domestic terrorist attack, killing 168
including Baylee Almon (pictured). McVeigh and his partner were
upset about the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents in 1992 and 1993.
Charles Porter IV, an amateur photographer, raced to the scene
thinking it was a demolition only to find the building had been blown
up. He was taking photos of a church where rescue workers were
aiding wounded when he saw one firefighter passing something to
another. The second firefighter waited for just a moment when Porter
took this single shot.

37. Oklahoma City Bombing
Importance: This photo proves that you don't have to be a
professional photographer with amazing equipment to be able to tell
amazing, compelling and visually stunning imagery. Porter was an
amateur (and aspiring) photojournalist who won the industry's top
prize using sheer instinct to guide his hand.
In terms of general history, the photo highlights the innocent collateral
damage from pure, unadulterated hatred fueled by politics and
revenge. It captures a wide range of emotion including McVeigh's
hatred from the rubble, sadness, grief, shock and loss of innocence, and
helps propel legislation like the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act of 1996, which boosted the federal government's ability to
deter terroristic acts before they happen and punish those responsible
afterward. — Stephen Green

38. Pictures are a combination of
serendipity, instinct and
experience. Of course a good
photographer has all of these
things going for him.
Hal Buell, author
former head of the Photography Service at the Associated Press

40. Photographer: Carol Guzy
Date taken: Sept. 29, 1994
Notes: Robert Barker
Shortly after the military intervention of Haiti, a U.S.
soldier steps in to protect a man suspected of
throwing a grenade into a joyous democracy march
in Port-au-Prince, killing and injuring numerous
pro-Aristide demonstrators in yet another act of
intimidation by para-military thugs. The soldiers
arrested him, saving his life from an angry and
bitter crowd looking for justice after many years of
repression.
Crisis in Haiti

41. Crisis in Haiti
Summary: News photographer Carol Guzy travels to Port-au-
Prince to cover a democracy march celebrating the return of
the first freely elected, and subsequently ousted Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. When a grenade is thrown into the midst of the
march, Guzy captures a U.S. soldier trying to stop people from
violently tearing apart a person they suspect of throwing the
explosive.

42. Importance: The soldier is in an ironic stance, hands up, pleading
for a stop to the violence, despite having a firearm in one of his
hands. He is in the foreground, significantly, acting as a physical
blockade of the suspect, who is seen on the ground behind him, also
with his hand out. The overall effect of U.S. forces in the foreground,
Haitians in the background is also historically significant, because it
captures the unfair power dynamic that is perpetuated even in the
midst of a political moment that is supposed to be positive.
The violence that results from confusion and chaos is emblematic of
Haiti’s history, which has seen corruption, misinformation, and
disruption from outside forces keep its citizens in a continual state
of crisis. The moment captured in this image symbolically and
literally reflects the confluence of forces that have created so much
death and destruction in this small country. — Robert Barker
Crisis in Haiti

44. Fleeing
Kosovo
Photographer: Carol Guzy
Date taken: March 3, 1999
Notes: Alicia Merrifield
Stripped of their possessions, refugees headed
for a transit camp in Kukcs, Albania wait to get
in. On either side of the camp fence, members
of the Shala family unite. They pass 2-year-old
Akim Shala through the fence into the hands of
his loving grandparents.

45. Fleeing Kosovo
Summary: In response to years of civil unrest between Serbs
and Albanians in Kosovo, the abuse of power by Serbian police
and armies under Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s rule
caused thousands of refugees to flee their homes.
When Milosevic failed to live up to his promises, the Albanians
attempted to regroup and fight back. Milosevic’s army
ruthlessly returned the attack. Despite the UN’s attempt to
intercept, the Serbs continued with their ethnic cleansing of
Kosovo. Thousands of Albanians found themselves as refugees,
stripped of all their paperwork and nowhere to go.

46. Fleeing Kosovo
Importance: The image documents yet another dark time in
the history of humans. While I know it wasn’t the first time in
history where refugees are documented, seeing the
desperation of parents wanting better for their children is
shown here. The fact that it is of a child instead of an adult
should evoke emotions in people willing to fight for change.
The fact that that same photo could be taken in our current
times makes one wonder how far are we willing to go as a
human race. — Alicia Merrifield

47. Columbine
Photographer: George Kochaniec Jr. /
Rocky Mountain News
Date taken: April 20, 1999
Notes: Michelle Corbett
Two anguished students embrace
near the school
early in the siege.
"We didn't think it was real
and then we saw blood,"
one student said.

48. Columbine
Summary: On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
opened fire on classmates at Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colorado. They shot and killed 13 people, 12 students and one
teacher. At the time it was the deadliest school shooting in U.S.
history. Klebold and Harris committed suicide in the school
library.

49. Columbine
Importance: Sadly, this image is still relevant today due to the
continued mass shootings in our country. The photo evokes such
powerful emotions that are still being felt on a regular basis. —
Michelle Corbett

51. Elián
Photographer: Alan Diaz, Associated
Press
Date taken: April 22, 2000
Notes: Danielle Ryan
An armed U.S. federal agent storms the house in
Little Havana on April 22, 2000, to seize Elian
Gonzalez, who was in the arms of Donato
Dalrymple, the man who'd rescued the boy from
the ocean five months earlier.

52. Summary: Five months after leaving Cuba in the early morning hours
in a boat with his mother, federal authorities removed 5-year-old Elian
Gonzalez from his relatives' Miami home. Elian's story quickly gained
national attention and sparked heated debate over the fate of the
young boy. He left Cuba with his mother and other refugees headed to
Florida to seek asylum, but they encountered a storm and most of the
group died, including Elian's mother. Elian was plucked out of the
ocean by fishermen and placed in the custody of his relatives in Miami.
What followed was months of bargaining, lawsuits, and federal
intervention to decide Elian's fate. His Cuban father wanted him
returned, but his Miami relatives wanted him to be granted asylum.
The fight came to a head when the Miami family refused to turn him
over and Attorney General Janet Reno sent specialized border patrol
agents in to retrieve the boy and return him to his father who had
traveled to America to get him. This photos captures the moment the
agents found Elian hiding with a relative in a bedroom closet.
Elián

53. Importance: I vividly remember when this photo was published. I was
preparing to graduate college. What struck me most was the sheer panic
on Elian's face and the intensity of the agent's eyes. It was hard not to
take sides if you just saw the photo. I wondered how could things have
gotten so out of hand that they had to shove such a gigantic gun in that
poor little boy's face. The emotional impact made many people forget
that this child, who had left Cuba secretly with his mother, still had a
living parent who probably missed him and wanted him returned safely.
Instead, he became the symbol for the plight of Cuban refugees and the
fight against Castro's regime.
There are many comparisons that we can draw today between Elian's
plight and the plight of children taken from their parents at the border.
In both cases the children are being used as pawns for a greater political
goal and photos such as these help to show the real story of the children
who suffer. — Danielle Ryan
Elián

54. “Alan Diaz captured, in his iconic
photographs, some of the most important
moments of our generation — the bitter,
violent struggle over the fate of a small
Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez, the
magnified eye of a Florida election official
trying to make sense of hanging chads and
disputed ballots in the 2000 presidential
election.”
Sally Buzbee, Associated Press executive editor
Al Diaz | Photo by Bradley Wilson

55. World Trade
Center
Attack
Photographer: Steve Ludlum, The
New York Times
Date taken: Sept. 11, 2001
Notes: Jennifer Willis

56. World Trade Center Attack
Summary: On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, America was
targeted and attacked by Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. Four
commercial airplanes full of passengers and crew were
purposefully crashed on U.S. soil. The first two planes hit the
World Trade Center towers in New York, a third hit the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C., with the final plane going down in an empty
field in Pennsylvania. It took 87 minutes from time the first plane
crashed in the North World Trade Center tower until the fourth
crashed. In total, 2,977 people were killed in the attack.

57. World Trade Center Attack
Importance: The events of this day have had a profound impact
on America. It affected America's foreign relations, its economy,
created the Department of Homeland Security, and impacted its
handling of travel and security. In terms of photojournalism, 9/11
aided in the launch of the 24 hour news cycle that we know today.
Many professional and novice photographers utilized their
cameras and smartphones to capture images of these events and
to share them with news outlets and the general public. —
Jennifer Willis

58. “An artist has
one shot at greatness
and this was mine.”
Photographer:
Steve Ludlum, The New York Times

60. Barack Obama’s
Presidential Campaign
Photographer: Damon Winter, The
New York Times
Date taken: Oct. 28, 2008
Notes: Carly Cundiff
Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack
Obama (D-IL) speaks during a heavy downpour at
a campaign rally at Widener University in Chester,
Pennsylvania.

61. Summary: At Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania,
then-candidate Barack Obama was campaigning in his first
march towards the presidency. As Obama was speaking
outdoors, it began to rain, drenching all in attendance. Obama
continued to preach his message to the crowd despite the
weather.
Barack Obama’s
Presidential Campaign

62. Importance: This photo, while very aesthetically pleasing,
also captures an incredibly historic moment — the campaign
of the first Black president of the United States. This photo,
along with others of Obama in the rain, would go on to
characterize Obama as someone who puts his message and
beliefs before his comfort. — Carly Cundiff
Barack Obama’s
Presidential Campaign

63. Moments in
Photojournalism
History
Produced by students in
“Teaching Photojournalism” at Kent State University
Bradley Wilson, Ph.D., and Candace Bowen, instructors