Book of the Week

Black in White America
by Leonard Freed

In 1962, Leonard Freed went to Berlin to shoot the wall being erected. There he saw a black soldier standing in front of the wall, and it struck him: At home in the United States, black people were struggling for civil rights, and here in Germany, a black soldier was ready to defend the United States. This prompted a lengthy examination by Freed of the plight of black people at home in the United States. Freed traveled to New York; Washington, D.C.; and all throughout the South, capturing images of a segregated society. The photos taken at that time were published in 1968 in Black in White America.

Photography is not entertaining, this is not decoration, this is not advertising. Photography is an emotional thing, a graceful thing. Photography allows me to wander with a purpose.