silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Image and Sheet): 11 x 13 7/8 in. (27.9 x 35.2 cm)
Type:
gelatin silver prints
portraits
Place depicted:
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Date:
September 21, 1979
Caption:
Monique fixes her doll’s hair on her babysitter’s doorstep. I never did find out what her last name was. She was only there for that day, and the babysitter never could tell me the little girl’s surname. I had just finished covering Terrence Johnson going to prison in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. On my way home I saw this child playing with a black doll. That caught my immediate attention because I had just finished reading Simple Injustice, in which Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth B. Clark’s research with black and white children revealed that children of both races prefer white dolls over black ones. So I was naturally glad to see this little girl with her black doll. This is one of my all-time favorite photographs. It won first place in the Beijing, China/Washington, D.C. sister city photography exhibition in Beijing in 1985. I am hoping that the young lady pictured here will see her photograph in this book and then try to contact me. I have this picture framed and waiting for her. September 21, 1979.
Milton Williams, Moments in Time, 1973-1993 (Nashville: James C. Winston Publishing Co., 1996), 156.
Description:
A black-and-white photograph of a smiling young girl in a doorway. She is sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her, as she combs a doll’s hair. The photograph is stamped and inscribed on the back.
