Leonard Freed

Leonard Freed was an American documentary photojournalist and longtime Magnum Photos member.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to working-class Jewish parents of Eastern European descent, Leonard Freed first wanted to become a painter. However, he began taking photographs while in the Netherlands in 1953. And discovered that this was where his passion lay.

Leonard Freed was born in 1929 and worked as a freelance photojournalist from the 1960s. During this time, he documented the Civil Rights Movement in America (1964–1965). There he travelled the country with Martin Luther King, Jr. in his celebrated march across the U.S. from Alabama to Washington. He also documented events in Israel (1967-1968), the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and the New York City police department (1972–1979). His work on the Civil Rights Movement led to the production of the book, Black in White America (1968), which garnered a lot of attention. Additionally, his work on the New York City law enforcement led to another book, Police Work (1980).