These are the faces of the people on whose shoulders we stand.
Named for John Lewis's instruction to make “good trouble, necessary trouble” — this archive documents the arrest records of the civil rights movement. Every mug shot is a historical record. Every caption is fact-checked. Every face earned our freedom.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants. We plant trees in whose shade we will never sit.”
About this archive and our editorial standards
Every mug shot in this archive is sourced from a documented public record: the Library of Congress, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, university archives, the National Archives, and verified family collections. Every caption is fact-checked by two reviewers. Every image carries a documented source and credit line.
We do not edit, filter, stylize, or alter historical photographs. The photograph is a historical document and we present it as one. We do scale and compress for web performance. We do not crop in a way that removes context, identification, or dignity.
Where a subject is still living, we have attempted contact and welcome corrections. Archival images currently in research are displayed with a placeholder until image rights are confirmed. Read our full editorial standards →
Teaching with the Good Trouble Archive
A downloadable discussion guide is available to help educators bring this archive into the classroom. The guide includes primary-source discussion prompts, biographical connections, and links to further research. No account required.
Download discussion guideInsights, delivered weekly.
The history the curriculum wars are trying to erase. Every Friday morning.