'Black In White America:' Revisiting A 1960s Photo Essay : The Picture ShowA 1960s photobook that explored race issues in America has been republished.
'Black In White America:' Revisiting A 1960s Photo Essay
By
Claire O'Neill
More than 40 years after the original publication date, The J. Paul Getty Museum has reissued Black In White America, a book by photojournalist Leonard Freed. The release corresponds with a new exhibition opening later this month; "Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since The Sixties" showcases the work of nine renowned photographers.
"The Reverend Martin Luther King being greeted in an open car." Maryland
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
" 'White' under the sign for furnished apartments means, 'White people only need apply.' " Raleigh, N. C.
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
"Through the slats of the boardwalk above, the sun shines upon the figures below, and self-imposed laws operate to segregate the people at this great city beach." Coney Island, New York
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
"Blind DeDe Pierce is one of the last old New Orleans Jazz men. Living in a three room, cinderblock house, built for him by his nephew. To reach it, one goes through a narrow passage, behind a building that cuts it off from the street." New Orleans
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
"Civil rights demonstrations in the North and South for jobs, equality, housing, schools and civil rights. The law says demonstrators obstructing traffic will be jailed."
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
Photos by Leonard Freed, from "Black in White America," many uncaptioned
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In the 1960s, Freed traveled the country providing in-depth coverage of America's race issues. But, rather than gravitating to violent outbursts and moments of tension, Freed photographed weddings and football practices and church services. Curator Brett Abbott explains in the book's foreward that Freed "found that his interests lay not in recording the progress of the civil rights movement per se but in exploring the diverse, everyday lives of a community that had been marginalized for so long."
The photographs are accompanied by Freed's diary-like text. And while many of the photos lack captions, that doesn't seem to matter. Freed was less interested in each individual instance, and more concerned with capturing the essence of an issue and a culture — a time and place. Somehow, even 40 years later, the photos still feel relevant.
