Historical African-American Materials in Special Collections: the John and Jane Adams Photograph Collection

At the close of African American History Month, we want to feature some of the many historical materials related to the African-American experience in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries available in our collections. Special Collections has numerous and compelling collections documenting San Diego's local African-American community, such as the Leon Williams Papers, the Reverend George Walker Smith Papers, the Harold K. Brown Papers and more. Other relevant materials can also be found within many other archival and manuscript collections.

Displayed here is a photograph from a travel scrapbook in the John and Jane Adams Photograph Collection. The photograph shows a group of African-American boys and the caption reads, "Ebony models, who were paid ten cents for posing - Harrisonvill, MO. [sic]" Also from this collection is a fascinating photograph of a group of African-American workers at the Green River House in Louisville, Kentucky, 1896. What can we learn about race in American culture and society at the time these photographs were taken? What questions arise from these images?