Eric Etheridge

Eric Etheridge is the author, journalist, and photographer behind the recently published Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders, a "then-and-now" memoir of the individuals who took part in the Freedom Riders of 1961. The book includes the mug shots of the 328 black and white Freedom Riders who were arrested in Jackson, MS during this tumultuous time in our nation’s history and were charged with breach of peace for trying to desegregate transportation terminals in the city. In the book, Etheridge also includes recent photographs of 84 of the civil rights activists, along with brief biographies and small excerpts from interviews with them. The work concludes with 20 extended interviews.

Due to a huge response to a selection of the photos that were originally published in The New York Times Magazine in 2006, Etheridge decided to pursue the project further, exploring the files of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and eventually tracking down and interviewing all of the original Freedom Riders.

Etheridge grew up in Carthage and Jackson, Mississippi, and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He has worked as an editor at a number of magazines, including Rolling Stone, 7 Days, New York Observer and Harper's. He also worked online, creating and running websites for Microsoft, The New York Times, and others.