Because of his commitment to the rights of workers , Kouns became a member of three unions before age 30 : The International Longshore and Warehouse Union by virtue of his work at a cannery , the International Brotherhood of Teamsters because of his job at a printing factory , and the Wire Service Guild when he was employed by United Press International . In the early 1960s , Kouns became a free-lance photographer , and in 1961 joined other early photographers of California farmworkers such as George Ballis and Ernest Lowe working in the fields of Tulare County . That same year Kouns met Jim Drake , an influential union organizer , and became involved in the California Migrant Ministry . He later spent two years documenting the Civil Rights Movement , including the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Montgomery , Alabama , one of the Selma to Montgomery marches , and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom . Beginning in the summer of 1965 , and influenced by John Steinbeck 's The Grapes of Wrath and by the photography of Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee , Kouns turned his camera toward the United Farm Workers Movement . He supported himself and raised money for the labor movement during this time by traveling throughout California and mounting photographic exhibitions at churches , libraries , schools , and union halls
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
John Kouns