lie explore ernest withers, his double life. he was a hero or was he a traitor? a question i asked her earlier. you know, ernest withers is not a name i think a lot of people know and then yet when you see his artwork you say, oh, that guy because, of course, he took some of the most iconic photos of the civil rights movement, the picture that said i am a man showing the memphis sanitation workers on strike or even some of the photos of emmett till and covering that trial so that s the kind of work he did. you know, it was back in the fall when news broke that ernest withers had been an informant for the fbi that i think everybody was stunned. it really made no sense and how could you justify in your head, you know, here s a guy who clearly was a photojournalist helping to get the most important images about the movement out at the same time being paid to inform for the fbi. we found that contradiction really interesting and confusing and we wanted to explore it more in our docume
covering the trial. that s the kind of work he did. it was back if the fall when news broke that ernest withers had been an informant for the fbi that everybody was stunned. it really made no sense. how could you justify in your head, you know, here is a guy who clearly was a photojournalist helping to get the most important images about the movement out at the same time being paid to inform for the fbi. we found that contradiction really interesting and confusing and we wanted to explore it more in our documentary pictures don t lie. if that is indeed the case, it is the ultimate the betrayal. i hate to ask you your opinion but from the evidence and doing this documentary do you think he was a hero or does it look like he was a traitor? i think like most people he was a complicated human being who was in a position possibly because of pressure from the fbi. we talked to a journalist, earl caldwell, who said the fbi came to him and he described it as someone putting their foot on