African Americans have made extraordinary contributions to the history and culture of the United States as part of the nation and apart from it. This month, Auction Finds present s “28 days (Plus 1)” of this collaborative history. The additional day is intended to break Black history out of the stricture of a month into its rightful place as an equal partner in the history of America. Each day, I will offer artifacts culled from the auction tables and my research, along with the stories they hold.
Feb. 6, 2022
Black photographers pictured Black folks as their true selves
You’ve never heard the names of many of them, but their contributions are significant to the history of Black folks in America by showing how they lived, worked, played and loved. They were the men and women who during the early 20th century – before Kodak cameras became ubiquitous – photographed Black people as real people, not as caricatures.
They took photos of Black entrepreneurs, Black debutant balls, Black church events, Black homeowners, Black children dressed up for Easter – without red lips or watermelons – Black soldiers and Black social clubs. They chronicled a separate world that showed African Americans as their own people, with their own cultures and traditions acquired through their African heritage and their American assimilation. Read the full story.
