Although the image I chose for my image analysis was taken in June of 1941, the implications of the Great Depression and the New Deal policies were still clearly in effect. This is essentially how I decided to choose my photo. I saw these African American men and women farming the fields of Georgia for cotton and the despair of the image drew me to it. I figured that even though it was taken in 1941, it could’ve easily been an image from the enslavement era because the realities of it were the same – African Americans were not afforded any type of economic or social opportunities. This is laid out in the American Yawp section, “XII. Equal Rights and the New Deal,” which states that, “Franklin Roosevelt did little to directly address the difficulties black communities faced.” 1 Additionally, due to the passing of some exclusive laws and acts that particularly only benefited white men in the south, African American citizens couldn’t receive economic aid from the Social Security Act, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act “displaced black tenants and sharecroppers, many of whom were forced to return to their farms as low-paid day labor or to migrate to cities looking for wage work.” 2
A historical question I would explore using this image is how the exclusion of African Americans in New Deal efforts helped promote, or begin, the Great Migration? Is there any correlation? The American Yawp article hints at the answer being yes, but I think it would be worthing exploring at what rate did African Americans from this rural communities travel to cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, Detroit, etc. Furthermore, did the treatment of African American laborers shift during World War II, especially since the photo is from June 1941, right on the brink of American involvement.
I was skeptical of the glitching process before I actually used it. I didn’t understand why the same conclusions couldn’t be drawn by looking at original photos? After my fourth attempt at glitching my own photo, I started to become a believer. As shown in my item and exhibit, I think it’s interesting how there’s a black line perfectly over all of the faces of the sharecroppers, so that all you can see are their legs and equipment working the field. In my mind, I couldn’t think of a better representation of the time. Lawmakers and Southern white men took advantage of the bodies and labor of African Americans, but when it came to giving them rights, seeing them as people with families and necessities, it was impossible. They chose what they wanted to see – and it wasn’t anywhere close to economic equality.
