‘American Moments: John Shearer’ opens Dec. 9 in Yorktown Heights 

From Saturday, Dec. 9, through April 7, The Capa Space in Yorktown Heights will present an exhibit of more than 30 photographs by photojournalist John Shearer, who captured iconic images of major historical events in the 1960s and ’70s, including the funerals of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 25, 1963 and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 9, 1968. 

The late Katonah resident was just 17 when he took a poignant photograph of young John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket, despite being knocked down by Secret Service agents. This propelled Shearer’s career as one of the few Black photographers at major publications like Look and Life magazines. 

Shearer leveraged his unique perspective as a Black photojournalist to document the civil rights movement. He followed the Black Panthers and the Ku Klux Klan alike. During the 1971 Attica prison uprising, inmates initially allowed only Shearer inside to photograph the event. In all he captured, colleagues said, Shearer searched for the humanity. 

Born in Harlem in 1947, Shearer was self-taught, studying graphic design and pursuing photography after serving in the U.S. Army. As a Black photographer, he met resistance, once nearly being lynched in Alabama. But Shearer felt his “war” was documenting racial struggles at home and portraying the downtrodden with dignity. 

Shearer’s work – which appeared in The New York Times and Ebony, Fortune and Sports Illustrated magazines, among other outlets – would earn him more than 175 photography awards. Though he died in 2019, his visual storytelling has cemented his reputation as an important presence in social documentary photography. 

There’s an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The Capa Space is at 2467 Quaker Church Road. For more, visit thecapaspace.org.