Bob Adelman Archive

Americana

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

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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

Comforted by a day-care worker. Harlam, New York City. 1978.

Peering through a mail slot, Brooklyn, New York City 1963

Returning from a sit-in, New York City 1963

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

Boys to men, Easter Sunday, Harlem, New York City. 1982

Writing on the wall, Alberta, Alabama. 1966

Courthouse, Clinton, Louisiana. 1963

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.

Lady drinks from — Lady drinks from "colored" water fountain in Sumter, SC. 1962

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

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

Innocent bystander arrested, Birmingham, Alabama. June, 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

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

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

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 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.”

Birm_016-08-Edit-Edit — "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.

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