Collection of African American Children photographs

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16798, Collection of African American Children photographs, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.06 Cubic Feet 2 letter size folders
Creator:
Max Rambod
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16798, Collection of African American Children photographs, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains ninety-eight photographs of African American children and families at home and play from about the 1950s to the 1990s. Measurements range from 6" X 4" to 2" X 2" inches and are in color and black and white. Several subjects recur throughout the archive. All are unidentified; only three have any annotations on the back. The photographed figures, primarily children but some family shots included, are captured within their homes or playing outside. Activities include playing, swimming, posing, and celebrating holidays and special occasions.

Biographical / historical:

These photographs show Black children enjoying childhood, posing beside Christmas trees and held fast in the arms of their grandmothers. Black joy is a phrase used by historians to highlight the positive aspects of Black history separate from its suffering. Representations of African Americans living lives at once ordinary and inspired, both deeply personal and universal, is an integral piece of any American history archive. "Expressions and acts of Black joy are often enouraged as a way for Black people to fully be themselves and form a sense of community as a response to systems that devalue them and stifle their self-expression. In this way, engaging in and sharing experiences of Black joy are seen not as ways of ignoring opression but as acts of resistance against it."

Acquisition information:
This collection was purchased from Max Rambod Inc. by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 01 March 2023.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard