The State Archives of Florida holds a collection of images from noted portrait photographer Alvan S. Harper. Alvan S. Harper was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1847. Between 1870 and 1884, he was a professional photographer in Philadelphia. Harper moved to Tallahassee in 1884. He was soon advertising that he would take “artistic photographs” in his first studio, a room in the house he was renting. He moved twice before buying a house and building his own studio, where he worked between 1889 and his death in 1911.

Some of Harper’s best negatives were lost when his studio was torn down in the 1920s. The negatives had been given to a Tallahassee historian who, because they were dirty, left them on a porch where they were mistaken for trash and taken to the dump. About 2,000 more Harper negatives were found in 1946 in the attic of the house he had owned. A Tallahassee photographer printed 250 negatives and circulated the prints in the community for identification.

At the Library of Virginia is the Adolph B. Rice Studio Collection, which constitutes a unique photographic record of life in Richmond, Virginia from 1949 to 1961. The collection consists of more than 16,000 4×5-inch film negatives from the commercial studio of Adolph B. Rice.

Adolph B. Rice Sr. (1909–1960) opened his first photo studio in Richmond in 1949. The studio remained on North Auburn Avenue until it ceased operation in 1961. His clients included businesses, industry, and state and local government. The Library invites the public to identify the images and provide captions for the more than 200 Rice Studio photographs on Flickr.

During the Great Depression, in 1935, the Farm Service Administration was developed as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal to to combat American rural poverty. The Library of Congress is the repository for all of these now-famous images by the leading photographers of the era.

The FSA is famous for its small but highly influential photography program, led under the auspices of Roy Stryker, that realistically portrayed the challenges of rural poverty. Check out the comments on this photo as a leading example of the power of the Flickr Commons to encourage healthy debate and community.

As an FSA documentary photographer, I was committed to changing the attitudes of people by familiarizing America with the plight of the underprivileged, especially in rural America … FSA photographs shocked and aroused public opinion to increase support for the New Deal policies and projects, and played an important part in the social revolution of the 30s.
—Marion Post Wolcott.

The New York Public Library also has some FSA holdings. Its collection on Flickr does not overlap the LOC’s (so far!). Learn more about the NYPL’s holdings by visiting their Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture website.

Throughout the Great Depression, Stryker provided photographic evidence for exhibition and to the media of the living and working conditions throughout America. The Roosevelt administration believed these images were useful for persuading not only voters but members of Congress to support federal relief and recovery programs. As the Depression wore on it was important to illustrate the positive effects of these programs. Shahn traveled to several planned communities in the south, where he photographed people engaged in productive activities and thriving because of government assistance. —Susan H. Edwards

This panel discussion, moderated by Elvis Mitchell, interviewer for The Black List Project, continues the exhibition’s consideration of how race, history, and each individual’s striving shape and enrich their stories of success. The discussion, held at the Brooklyn Museum on January 31, centered on the future for black women now that First Lady Obama and her daughters have moved into the White House.

rosewithoutathorn84 says:

These children were probably dressed up nicely like this to create a heart-tugging image for northerners, thereby helping the abolitionist cause. Like a picture of a baby harp seal being used to represent all marine life, this is most likely a positive-propaganda image meant to arouse sympathy for those in slavery.

In 1861, the Government officially recognized and empowered the United States Sanitary Commission, a civilian organization, to conduct inquiries regarding the sanitary condition of the volunteer troops, and to advise on the means to promote their health, comfort and efficiency. — New York Public Library

LMangue says:

This Barke’s gelatin silver print cabinet card was taken, or at least processed, in Council Bluffs and Missouri Valley, Iowa around 1890, well after Lincoln’s proclamation had been signed (1863) and had taken effect (1865).Before, during and after slaves were freed it was not that uncommon to see household servants treating white children as if they were their very own. Black servants did in fact raise several generations of white children. Children came to regard their caretakers kindly (in many cases) and might even regard their caretakers with the same affection held for their very own parents.

From the George Grantham Bain Collection of the Library of Congress, taken between 1910 and 1915, is this magnificent portrait of the great Texas boxer Jack Johnson, who became the first heavyweight champion of black boxing. Jim Jeffries, the reigning champ, refused to fight him at the time because of his skin color. Johnson finally fought and beat Jeffries in Las Vegas, NV, in 1910.

Also from the LOC’s Bain Collection, this is a strong portrait of Canadian boxing legend Sam Langford, the “Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows,” whose boxing career spanned 1903 until 1926. This image was taken from a glass negative.

From the Smithsonian Institution:

Creator/Photographer: Unidentified photographer
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Date: 1946
Collection: Lee Harris Papers
Repository: Anacostia Community Museum
Gift line: Gift of Mr. Lee Harris
Accession number: PH 2003.7078.053

Cashaw says:

Yes, blacks went to the battle field to help fight racism. What is truly interesting is it was these very same people who helped to start the Civil Rights movement. My grandfather told some very interesting stories about WWII, and coming home.

Photographed in 1989 by Harold Do and residing at the Smithsonian, this photograph celebrates the week long holiday of Kwanzaa, honoring African heritage. Ron Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first specifically African American holiday. Karenga said his goal was to:

… give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.