No. 2.2: The Photo Album
We May Not Know the Story of Emmitt Till If There Were No Photos.
Photos can give us insight into how our ancestors lived their lives during certain periods in time. Unfortunately photos can tell the horrors many of our ancestors endured as well. The story of Emmitt Till is one that will forever haunt the history of America. In 1955, at the age of 14, he was tortured and lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman. In an effort to show the abuse of Black bodies in America, Emmitt’s mother, Mamie Till, held an open casket funeral for her son. Photos of his mutilated body spread across the mainstream media outlets. While no one was charged with his murder, those photos of his battered body are still shown today as a reminder of the violence Black Americans endured for simply living. The impact of those photos has aroused current generations to cherish and honor Emmitt’s legacy without ever having met him.
I remember rummaging through my grandmother’s photo albums as a young girl. Flipping through the pages of both black and white photos and photos in color. I would run my fingers over the plastic covers that protected the surface of the photos, examining the faces of each model. There were also newspaper clippings featuring family members announcing their participation in the hottest local news at that time.
Some of the photos showed the excitement of the baby's first photo shoot while others displayed the gaze of the elders with little to no facial expression. Leaving the interpretation of their thoughts up to the viewer.
Maintaining a collection of family photos is a great way to tell the story of your family origins. It gives a visual representation of names and places that may be spoken of often at family gatherings. If you are a believer that our ancestors protect us then family photos may be a part of your spirituality. Family photos may be all that one has as remnants of their family history.
Whether displayed in a photo album, scattered in a box or in a frame sitting on the shelf, maintaining a collection of family photos is another method for preserving our familial history. Family photos show us who we inherited our facial features from. In turn they can bring out a series of past memories. They tend to remind us of a person, place and time that we cherish.
Photos can be used to trace family members back to a certain time period. The material of the photo can give historians a clue to what time period the photo was taken. Photography experts refer to these various materials as the following(1)*:
Daguerreotypes Year: 1839-1860
Salt Print’s (Talbot’s Process) Year: 1839-1860
Albumen Prints Year: 1855-1890
Carte de Visite Year: 1860-1890
Ambrotypes Year: 1854-Mid 1860s
Tintypes Year: 1856 – 1900
Cabinet Cards Year: 1870 – 1890s
Hylalotype Year: 1875-1950s
A collection of family photos personifies the family tree. They give a visual presentation of the heritage of past generations and the blessings of present generations. Take the time to rummage through your family photos. If you don’t know where to find them, ask your elders or spend some time on an ancestry site. If you don’t have any photos, take a selfie and get started on building your photo album.
These collections of photos do not just pertain to the preservation of one's family. It also tells the stories of our communities. To come across photos of times where our communities gathered for festivities, chronologizing spending time at the beach or simply hanging on the block, give us perspectives of how culturally we are diverse within ourselves. An elder in their Sunday’s best may look differently in Mississippi versus Harlem, New York. The visuals of the Black experience in Compton, California will not look the same as the Black experience in Durham, North Carolina. Whether we were stepping on the yard at a Historically Black College or twerking it up at Freaknik (Yes Freaknik), these images are embedded in our cultural framework.
As stated in the beginning, photos have captured moments of our tragedies. It's a dolorous reminder of the injustices Black Americans experience unfortunately not only in the past but presently. As much as we should not dwell on sorrow, we cannot forget about the work that still needs to be done to resolve the imbalances of power.
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Photos show the expressions of joy during a family gathering as well as the sadness that lies in the eyes of someone whose experiences are untold. Safeguarding our images protects our memories. It’s a way to visually tell our stories.
Have you ever taken a photo and tried to put words to the image? Try it. Take an existing photo whether it’s a relative, someone you don’t know or a group of people and tell their story. Use your imagination to interpret the facial expressions and body language. It doesn’t have to be an essay. Start with 2-3 sentences and let your mind run free.
