"Seeing beauty and advocating for justice are not mutally exclusive acts... [O]ne can feed the other powerfully." - J. Drew Lanham

Our website is proud to display public domain and fair use images of civic leaders who through determination and example contributed to bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice, whose actions have been for the betterment of all humanity.  We highlight many individual organizers, movement moments, and leaders.  See below for a current listing of image details and attributions.

The public domain refers to creative works not protected by intellectual property laws.  These works are owned by the public for free use, no one can own them.  Many of the public domain images we share document significant historical moments of organizing for the recognition of fundamental human rights.  The selection of these specific images corresponds to the fundamental nature of just cause.

Above: Katherine Johnson at NASA, 1966.

Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.  She was one of the first women of color to work as a NASA scientist.  Her work and example set profound precedent in human history and deserve recognition.  She co-authored 26 scientific papers.  In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  In 2016, she was presented with the Silver Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin and a NASA Group Achievement Award. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures.  In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress.  In 2021, she was inducted posthumously into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Images of the profound August 28, 1963 march advocating for civil and economic rights for black and brown Americans are featured throughout our website.  At the march, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic "I Have A Dream" speech.  The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of this public demonstration.  We recognize the essential and everlasting value that the principles and organization of this action and the civil rights movement have for contemporary organizers.  Our campaign for the enactment of just cause protections stands on the shoulders of giants, and we seek to meaningfully address continued disparity by preventing covert discrimination in employment settings.

Lady Justice symbolizes impartiality, balancing interests, and consequence.  These qualities are principally intrinsic to due process.  Through democratic and dutiful organizing practices that inform significant definition, and establish checks and balances, these principles become attributes of law.  

Stylistic elements of greco-roman classical art and associated symbolism continue to influence imagery in service to the State as well as organized labor.  In our logo, Lady Justice stands atop a soap box (a real and rudimentary platform of free speech).  On the box, facing the viewer is a conventional fede symbol of two hands shaking, commonly used in labor imagery such as labels and logos to represent solidarity or agreement.  This symbol dates to ancient Rome, and was known as 'dextrarum iunctio'.

The latin phrase "Veni Vidi Vici" crosses the top of the image in a straight line, the shortest distance between two points.  Attributed to Julius Caesar in a letter to the Roman Senate describing a swift, conclusive military victory, it means "I came. I saw. I conquered."  Referenced in media, this concise statement of initiative, recognition, and victory connotes values of effective strategic organizing that asserts justice over injustice.  Weighting the bottom of the image, lines of light shine from the soapbox emphasizing the value of speech and the fede image of cohesion, good will, and compromise.  Just cause is simply a standard of due process, enhanced by definiton and consistency, outcomes are derived from individual merit and context.

FEATURED ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY