Easter Sunday in Black Chicago, 1941: Russell Lee, Edwin Rosskam, & the Farm Security Administration

This is one of my favorite photos.  I love the kids, the clothes, the car, and the moment.  It's April 1941, Easter Sunday, and the five poised black boys are as much in control of the situation as is the photographer, a white man named Russell Lee.

 

 

Russell Lee:  Negro boys on Easter morning.  Southside, Chicago, Illinois.  1941.  (Photos are from the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information collection at the Library of Congress.  Click directly on any image to see a larger version.)

At the time, Lee was working for the Farm Security Administration's [FSA] epic documentary photography project.  Although most FSA photography was related to the agency's efforts to improve the lot of impoverished farmers and farm workers, by the early 1940s, it had turned some of its attention to America's cities.

The five boys are representative of Chicago's diverse African-American community, in which poverty and prosperity existed side-by-side.  While most black Chicagoans were poor (many were migrants from the South, fleeing racism and searching for economic opportunity), the city was also home to a self-confident black middle class.  You can see some of that confidence in Lee's photo.

 

 

Edwin Rosskam:  Adolescent boys [sic] dressed up for the Easter parade, Chicago, Illinois.  1941.

On that April day, there was another FSA photographer, in Chicago, working on the same assignment -- Edwin Rosskam.  In fact, the project was his idea.

Rosskam had been powerfully moved by Richard Wright's Native Son, which had been published in 1940.  The novel, which was set in Chicago, was an angry indictment of the corrosive effects of American racism.  Despite (or maybe because of) its anger, the book had been a literary sensation.  Rosskam, the FSA's photo editor as well as a photographer, had initiated a collaboration between Wright and the documentary project -- FSA photos and a text by Wright would describe the condition of black America.  The result was 12 Million Black Voices, which appeared later in the year.

 

 

Russell Lee:  Part of the processional of an Episcopal Church, South Side of Chicago, Illinois.  1941.

In the end, only a few of the 420 photos that Lee and Rosskam made in Chicago, over the course of two or three weeks, appeared in 12 Million Black Voices.  The book looked at the African-American community nationwide, rather than in just one city.  Those 420 photos remain, however, remarkable documents from a particular time and place.

 

 

Russell Lee:  Girls waiting for Episcopal Church to end so they can see the processional, South Side of Chicago, Illinois.  1941.

Rosskam and Lee spent a good part of the chilly, gray Easter morning at an Episcopal church, probably drawn by the theatricality of its procession.  Many white viewers (and perhaps the two photographers, as well) would have also been surprised by the very existence of a prosperous black middle class and, in particular, one made up of sober, but stylish Episcopalians.

 

 

Edwin Rosskam:  Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois.  1941.

I haven't been able to identify the church.  If anyone knows anything about it, please leave a comment or send me a note.  (You can email me by clicking on the link in the upper right hand corner of this page.)

Note, 8 January 2011:  A couple of days ago, I received a note from Ed Doxy, letting me know that the church is St. Edmund's Episcopal.  The photos were made at the church's original location at 57th and Indiana, not long before it moved to its present home at 61st and Michigan.

 

 

Russell Lee:  Peddlers on Easter morning on Garfield Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois.  1941.

Most black Chicagoans weren't middle class, as Lee and Rosskam knew quite well.  They may have spent part of their Easter with middle-class boys and Episcopalians, but their photos remind us that while some people were in church, others were trying to earn a living.

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I've drawn much of the information in this post from Nicholas Natanson's remarkable book, The Black Image in the New Deal:  The Politics of FSA Photography.

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Note, 2 May 2013:  I now close comments on these posts after two months in order to control spam.  But as you can see below, this particular post has generated a lot of fascinating comments over the years.  If you have anything to add, feel free to send me an email, and I'll add what you have to say to the comments.  You'll find my address in the upper right hand corner of this page.

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Comments

[Bruce A. Dixon]

When my mother and I saw that picture about a decade ago at the Chicago Historical Society, she said she knew three of those little boys, and that at the time, Easter Sunday 1941, she lived in that apartment building on the left behind the pic on South Park, which was probably Grand Boulevard at the time, and is now Martin Luther King Drive. It looks like they were in front of the Savoy, which was the next door south of the old Regal Theatre.

The church steeple on the right hand side in the background would be Corpus Christi, where I attended elementary school until leaving the 7th grade in 1963.

[John]

Bruce, thanks very much for your comments. It's wonderful to hear from someone who has a personal connection with the photos and who can provide some background information.

[Kimberlys C. Webb]

Mr. Lee I hope you don't mind but I plan to celebrate you photo by taking a photo of my 2 sons and 3 newphew standing in front of my dad'a 1967 Mercedes. I love this photo a have been intrigued from the first time I saw it.

[MICA JONES]

MY MOTHER PURCHASED THIS PHOTO FOR ME A FEW YEARS AGO FOR CHRISTMAS AND IT IS HUNG UP IN MY LIVING ROOM .. QUITE OFTEN I FIND MYSELF AND MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY GAZING AT THE PICTURE AS IF WE ARE TRYING TO TRAVEL BACK INTO TO THAT MOMENT IN TIME. IT IS TRULY A PROFOUND PEICE. EVERYTIME SOMEONE COMES TO MY HOUSE (ESPECIALLY MY MOM) THEY RENAME THE PICTURE. MY MOM CALLS IT "MY UNCLES" AND SAYS THAT IT REPRESENTS EACH ONE OF HER MOTHER'S BROTHERS AS BOYS. I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON A PAPER FOR SCHOOL AND I CHOSE THE BRONZEVILLE AREA BEING MY TOPIC AND YOUR PORTRAIT WAS MY INSPIRATION.

[Doris Doty]

My husband and I picked up the photo of the five African American boys while visiting downtown Milwaukee. A bar owner was closing the bar his dad used to own. This photo always draws attention when people enter our home. We are curious; are any still alive? Is is possible to know their names? It is a fantastic picture!

[John]

Hello, Doris. Thanks for your comment.

It's certainly a wonderful photograph. I'm not aware, however, of anyone who has ever identified the boys.

[N. Baker]

I have this photo hanging in my Chicago office, a scholarship organization dedicated to helping Black and Hispanic students gain better access to college. It inspires me. It seems that, in light of the power of social media, someone could put out the word and find out what happened to each of these promising young men. They certainly looked like the world was their oyster on that bright Easter morning.

[Melissa]

I've been a member of st edmunds for well over 20 years. I've had such a good time viewing these pictures. A small insignificant correction though. The old church was actually on 58th Indiana. The old church still stands, but it's no longer episcopal. I still live in his area. I wish I knew who those boys were. I have the picture in my home. It was taken well before my mother was born, but it makes me wsh we still lived in times, where young men, and womn dressed like this. I'm not sure how true this is, but the man I purchased the photo from says he met the daughter of the boy front and center. He didn't collect any information unfortunately.

[keith little]

My name is Keith Little and I believe that one of the Twins was my neighbor(Dr. Samuel Hall). He pasted away in 1987. I remember seeing a picture of him and his Twins brother dressed in the same kind of suit. He was a very wonder man.He always had a smile on his face and would have good advice for anyone who needed it. He lived at 5023 s. Indiana til his homecoming.

[deborah mitchell]

Hi Keith Little
I mhave been so intrigued with this picture over the years. The information you gave about the set of twins really makes me believe that the boys grew up in Chicago with their families and remained until their death if all are dead. It would be so nice if Oprah Winfrey could televise this photo for someone to come forward.