In 1956, 18-year-old Cecil Williams and his friend, fellow photographer Rendall Harper, were returning from a trip to take pictures of South Carolina's segregated beaches for JET Magazine. After a day in the blazing Carolina sun, they needed a drink, so they took a big risk.
The men stopped at a filling station, with its "White Only" water fountain in plain view. Williams took his chance with the station closed and no white people in sight.
He was used to sticking his thumb in the eye of white supremacy, using his camera to tell necessary truths. He would become one of the most influential photographers of the civil rights era, but on this day, he was just thirsty.
Williams went up to the fountain, put his hands on his hips, and took a drink as he stared into the lens of Rendall’s camera. The photograph quickly became famous.
Williams's photos showed everyone what life in the Jim Crow South was like – and the resistance to it. Williams was proud to show his defiance of white supremacy and hoped the photo encouraged others to do the same.