Bettye Lane

Bettye Lane (September 19, 1930, Boston – September 19, 2012, Manhattan) was an American photojournalist known for documenting major events within the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, and the gay rights movement in the United States. She joined CBS television in 1960, and from 1962 to 1964 she was with the Saturday Evening Post. Her work has been published in the National Observer, Time, Life, and the Associated Press.

Lane's work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution and some of her photographs are part of the permanent collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her work is also part of the collections of the New York Public Library and the libraries at Harvard and Duke University. Her photographs have also been utilized in documentary films and published books.

Lane died on her 82nd birthday. In 1966, the National Observer hired Lane for the same position and she stayed there until 1977. Lane was hired by the National Observer after she met the newspaper's photo editor at protest in 1966. He was so impressed with her devotion and dedication that he hired her and eventually helped make her become known as the official photographer of the women's movement.

It was during her time working at the National Observer, a New York weekly newspaper, that Lane was given her big break. In 1970, Lane had her first encounter with the women's movement when she was assigned to cover the first Women's Strike for Equality. The protest was organized by the National Organization for Women and fought for women's equality in the workplace. After photographing the Women's Strike for Equality, Lane became obsessed with photographing the women's movement and made it her business to attend and photograph every protest and rally, whether she was assigned to do so or not. It was this dedication that resulted in Lane becoming known as the official photographer of the women's movement.

After leaving the National Observer in 1977, Lane became independent, not tying herself down to a certain publication, however, she took assignments from Time, Life and the Associated Press. Her photographs have been featured in more than 70 documentaries and books about the Stonewall riots. One of her photos was included in the "Celebrate the Century" US Postal stamp series for 2000. Lesbian author and activist Sarah Schulman wrote "her photos from the era are classics, showing women, men, trans people, drag, and the people of color intrinsic to the movement at the time".