Bob Adelman Archive Bob Adelman Archive

Americana

An unfinished edit of social and political subjects assembled and sequenced by Bob Adelman.

Scuffing,  Sumter,  South Carolina  1962
Scuffing, Sumter, South Carolina 1962
Trucking cotton,  Wilcox County, 
Alabama.  1966
Trucking cotton, Wilcox County, Alabama. 1966
Daddy's little man,  Harlem, New York City  1959
Daddy's little man, Harlem, New York City 1959
Comforted by a day-care worker. Harlam, New York City. 1978.
Comforted by a day-care worker. Harlam, New York City. 1978.
Peering through a mail slot,  Brooklyn,  New York City  1963
Peering through a mail slot, Brooklyn, New York City 1963
Returning from a sit-in,  New York City  1963
Returning from a sit-in, New York City 1963
Strange fruit,  Sumter,  South Carolina  1962
Strange fruit, Sumter, South Carolina 1962
On Main Street,  East Feliciana Parish,  Louisiana  1963-I ran across these children in a car near the Voter Registrar's Office during the Freedom Summer of 1964.  They weren't waiting  for someone who was registering but for a black domestic to finish the family's shopping.
On Main Street, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana 1963-I ran across these children in a car near the Voter Registrar's Office during the Freedom Summer of 1964. They weren't waiting for someone who was registering but for a black domestic to finish the family's shopping.
Peyton Buford Jr. and his tenant farmers,  Yellow Bluff,  Alabama  1970-
Peyton Buford Jr. and his tenant farmers, Yellow Bluff, Alabama 1970-"This picture was taken back when cotton was farmed on Buford's land in Yellow Bluff. Today the land is a cow pasture and the workers-and their jobs-have vanished."
Just settin',  Waynesboro,  Georgia  1965
Just settin', Waynesboro, Georgia 1965
Second-generation quilter Betty Rogers finds
Second-generation quilter Betty Rogers finds "quilting keeps my mind steady." she is amused-and embarrassed-to be photographed in her bed under her leaping-frog quilt, Clinton, Alabama 1983
Champion show horse shows off,  Epes,  Alabama  1983
Champion show horse shows off, Epes, Alabama 1983
Love thy neighbor: A visiting prayer band prays with a blind parishioner,  Mantua,  Alabama  1983
Love thy neighbor: A visiting prayer band prays with a blind parishioner, Mantua, Alabama 1983
Al Green,  live at the Apollo Theater,  Harlem,  New York City  1980-
Al Green, live at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York City 1980-"At the Apollo, I remember, the great Al Green tossed dozens of roses to the ladies in the front rows."
As blue as he can be,  Sunbeam's Club Paradise,  Memphis,  Tennessee  1968-
As blue as he can be, Sunbeam's Club Paradise, Memphis, Tennessee 1968-"B.B. King's face mirrors every chord he plays. The man known as the Beale Street Blues Boy is the foremost living practitioner of the form. The blues is, I think, a great American literature that sees the world through the prism of the man-woman thing, It's music that mysteriously dips into the darkest registers yet ultimately sounds triumphant."
Image and reality: a blues band at the state fair,  Dallas,  Texas  1965
Image and reality: a blues band at the state fair, Dallas, Texas 1965
Nonchalantly,  the jazz great Miles Davis turns away from the audience at the Village Vanguard,  New York City 1959
Nonchalantly, the jazz great Miles Davis turns away from the audience at the Village Vanguard, New York City 1959
At the top of his game:  Sidney Poitier on the set of For Love of Ivy,  New York City  1968-I photographed Sidney performing in Ivy,  a movie he also wrote.  This same year,  he starred in three box office hits:  Guess Who's Comming to Dinner,  In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love.  Sidney Poitier did for the movies what Jackie Robinson did for Baseball.  Not only could they play with the best,  they were the best.  And they made sure that the doors they opened stayed open.
At the top of his game: Sidney Poitier on the set of For Love of Ivy, New York City 1968-I photographed Sidney performing in Ivy, a movie he also wrote. This same year, he starred in three box office hits: Guess Who's Comming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love. Sidney Poitier did for the movies what Jackie Robinson did for Baseball. Not only could they play with the best, they were the best. And they made sure that the doors they opened stayed open.
James Baldwin mourns at a memorial service for the four girls killed in Birmingham in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. New York City, 1963.
James Baldwin mourns at a memorial service for the four girls killed in Birmingham in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. New York City, 1963.
Master of them that know: writer Ralph Ellison,  Harlem,  New York City.  1968

“Ralph wrote the great American
novel, Invisible Man, and I had the
good fortune to benefit from his
wisdom through many, many hours
of great talk. I never met anyone
more intelligent and insightful,
or with a better sense of humor.
Ralph understood brilliantly how
black and white cultural life intertwined,
and he recognized how
much that interaction enriched
American life. His insights were
so powerful, they transformed my
vision and my photographs. No
one in my adult life influenced my
thinking more.
Master of them that know: writer Ralph Ellison, Harlem, New York City. 1968 “Ralph wrote the great American novel, Invisible Man, and I had the good fortune to benefit from his wisdom through many, many hours of great talk. I never met anyone more intelligent and insightful, or with a better sense of humor. Ralph understood brilliantly how black and white cultural life intertwined, and he recognized how much that interaction enriched American life. His insights were so powerful, they transformed my vision and my photographs. No one in my adult life influenced my thinking more."-Bob Adelman
Fly, at Kennedy Airport, New York City.  1970
Fly, at Kennedy Airport, New York City. 1970
Boys to men,  Easter Sunday,  Harlem,  New York City. 1982
Boys to men, Easter Sunday, Harlem, New York City. 1982
Writing on the wall, Alberta, Alabama.  1966
Writing on the wall, Alberta, Alabama. 1966
Courthouse,  Clinton,  Louisiana.  1963
Courthouse, Clinton, Louisiana. 1963
Store,  Sumter,  South Carolina.  1962
Store, Sumter, South Carolina. 1962
Birmingham had a well deserved reputation as the most segragated and racially viloent city in the deep south. Its long string of unsolved racist bombings earned the city the epithet Bombingham. Movie theatre sign Brimingham, 1963.
Birmingham had a well deserved reputation as the most segragated and racially viloent city in the deep south. Its long string of unsolved racist bombings earned the city the epithet Bombingham. Movie theatre sign Brimingham, 1963.
Lady drinks from
Lady drinks from "colored" water fountain in Sumter, SC. 1962
War Memorial, Augusta, Georgia.1988===
War Memorial, Augusta, Georgia.1988===
“The owner here has reserved his right to serve whomever he pleases. The presence of a policeman in a situation like this usually meant that instead of having food dumped on you and hot coffee in your lap, you’d be peacefully led to jail.
“The owner here has reserved his right to serve whomever he pleases. The presence of a policeman in a situation like this usually meant that instead of having food dumped on you and hot coffee in your lap, you’d be peacefully led to jail." Sitting in, Cambridge, Maryland. 1962
Bayard Rustin,  Baltimore,  Maryland.  1962
Bayard Rustin, Baltimore, Maryland. 1962
They sometimes served those who only sat and waited, Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 1962
They sometimes served those who only sat and waited, Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 1962
Holding on:  Freedom Riders on Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington,  D.C.  1962

“Gripped by terror, armed with only their ideals, the Freedom Riders were intent on smashing racial barriers yet terrified of the price they might have to pay.”
Holding on: Freedom Riders on Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C
Holding on: Freedom Riders on Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 1962 “Gripped by terror, armed with only their ideals, the Freedom Riders were intent on smashing racial barriers yet terrified of the price they might have to pay.” Holding on: Freedom Riders on Route 40 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C
Hate speech, the White House, Washington, D.C.  1962
Hate speech, the White House, Washington, D.C. 1962
Innocent bystander arrested, Birmingham,  Alabama. June, 1963.
Innocent bystander arrested, Birmingham, Alabama. June, 1963.
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Picketer under arrest behind LovemanÕs department store, where the protest concerned unfair hiring practices, Birmingham, Alabama. Spring of1963

ÒBirmingham was a turning point. It was the first time the Movement took on such a large city. King called it the most segregated city in America. The KlanÕs penchant for resolving racial conflicts with dynamite earned the city the nickname Bombingham.Ó
Picketer under arrest behind LovemanÕs department store, where the protest concerned unfair hiring practices, Birmingham, Alabama. Spring of1963 ÒBirmingham was a turning point. It was the first time the Movement took on such a large city. King called it the most segregated city in America. The KlanÕs penchant for resolving racial conflicts with dynamite earned the city the nickname Bombingham.Ó
During a mass meeting at the 16th Street Baptist Church, King urges his supporters to join the demonstrations,  Birmingham,  Alabama.  1963
During a mass meeting at the 16th Street Baptist Church, King urges his supporters to join the demonstrations, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Audience responding to Martin Luther King speaking at the 16th street Baptist Church. Birmingham, Alabama, 1963.
Audience responding to Martin Luther King speaking at the 16th street Baptist Church. Birmingham, Alabama, 1963.
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
MLK led protests in Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Improv prisons: High school student demonstrators are detained in a sports stadium,  Birmingham,  Alabama.
1963
Improv prisons: High school student demonstrators are detained in a sports stadium, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Kelly Ingram Park,  Birmingham, Alabama.  1963
Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Hell, no!: A downed onlooker rises up enraged,   Birmingham,  Alabama.  1963
Hell, no!: A downed onlooker rises up enraged, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963
Demonstrators hold on to one another to face the full force of the firehoses which peeled the bark of the trees, Kelly Ingram Park,  Birmingham,  Alabama.  June, 1963.
Demonstrators hold on to one another to face the full force of the firehoses which peeled the bark of the trees, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama. June, 1963.
Demonstrators in Kelly Ingram Park scatter under the force of the high speed fire hoses. Kelly Ingram Park,  Birmingham, Alabama.  1963.
Demonstrators in Kelly Ingram Park scatter under the force of the high speed fire hoses. Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963.
Beloved community, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama.  1963


“‘If you don’t bear the cross, you can’t wear the crown’ was the loving spirit that animated the Movement. In Birmingham, the protestors clearly earned their crowns. The use of fire hoses and dogs backfired. City officials lost control of themselves, of the protests and of segregation. What happened in Birmingham provoked John Kennedy to denounce segregation — the first U.S. president to do so —  and to urge its legal ban. The drama that unfolded in Birmingham proved to be a triumphant moment for the ideals of non-violent social change.”
Beloved community, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963 “‘If you don’t bear the cross, you can’t wear the crown’ was the loving spirit that animated the Movement. In Birmingham, the protestors clearly earned their crowns. The use of fire hoses and dogs backfired. City officials lost control of themselves, of the protests and of segregation. What happened in Birmingham provoked John Kennedy to denounce segregation — the first U.S. president to do so — and to urge its legal ban. The drama that unfolded in Birmingham proved to be a triumphant moment for the ideals of non-violent social change.”
"They also Serve". Crowd on rooftop.Birmingham, Alabama. June, 1963.
No man is an island,  Kelly Ingram Park,  Birmingham, Alabama. 1963


“The police and firemen used a brute show of force to try to stop the ongoing demonstrations. It didn’t work on this day. Rather than fleeing, the protestors hung on to each other and were able to stand up to the full fury of the water, though not without casualties. I have never witnessed such cruelty. There was almost as much moisture behind the lens as in front. I gave a print of this picture to Dr. King. He studied it and said, ‘I am startled that out of so much pain some beauty came.
No man is an island, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama. 1963 “The police and firemen used a brute show of force to try to stop the ongoing demonstrations. It didn’t work on this day. Rather than fleeing, the protestors hung on to each other and were able to stand up to the full fury of the water, though not without casualties. I have never witnessed such cruelty. There was almost as much moisture behind the lens as in front. I gave a print of this picture to Dr. King. He studied it and said, ‘I am startled that out of so much pain some beauty came." - Bob Adelman
Redemption: Protestor demands the promise of full equality promised in the 13, 14, and, 15th amendments at the assembly at the Washington Monument.  Washington, D.C. August 28, 1963.
Redemption: Protestor demands the promise of full equality promised in the 13, 14, and, 15th amendments at the assembly at the Washington Monument. Washington, D.C. August 28, 1963.

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