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Coloured Only

image ^President Obama aboard Air Force One

00199r^Durham, North Carolina. May 1940. Jack Delano, photographer.
"At the bus station."

We, the world, have come a long way.

The old photographs were taken by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration Historical Section (later transferred to the Office of War Information) of the US Government.  They were encouraged to document continuity and change in many aspects of life in America during the years the unit was in operation.

image ^President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet Queen Elizabeth II April 1, 2009, during their visit to Buckingham Palace.

00197r ^Memphis, Tennessee. October 1939. Marion Post Wolcott, photographer. "Second-hand clothing stores and pawn shop on Beale Street

During those days of yore, these photographers were particularly encouraged to photograph billboards and signs as one indicator of such developments. Although no documentation has been found to indicate that photographers were explicitly encouraged to photograph racial discrimination signs, the collection includes a significant number of this type of image, which is rarely found in other Prints and Photographs Division collections.

 

image ^President Barack Obama shakes hands as he enters the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009.

00202r ^Memphis, Tennessee. September 1943. Esther Bubley, photographer.
" People waiting for a bus at the Greyhound bus terminal."

These old photos indicate all the known images of discrimination signs found in the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information file of photographic prints.  Here, in juxtaposition with the photos of President Obama, the old photos give testimony to how the world has really changed.

image^President Obama boards Air Force One for the flight home from Ottawa, Canada on Feb. 19, 2009.

00224r^Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. July 1939. Russell Lee, photographer.
"Man drinking at a water cooler in the street car terminal."  Sign: "Reserved for Coloured."]

 

 

image^Feb. 1, 2009: In the White House family theatre, the President serves cookies to his guests during the Super Bowl. Many of the guests were Congressmen and Senators, and their families.

00217r ^Belzoni, Mississippi, in the delta area. October 1939. Marion Post Wolcott, photographer. "Negro man entering movie theatre by "Coloured" entrance." [Signs: "Coloured--Adm." and "White Men Only."]

(Photos from the White House and the Library of US Congress.  Copyrights are not aware of.)

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