[Prison Work Crew (ca. 9 Members) Digging Trench and 1 Guard]

Doris Ulmann

1929–30, printed 1934 · Photogravure from glass negative · Photographs

Ulmann traveled throughout the South and was struck by regional customs that seemed peculiar and, on occasion, inhumane. Showing a group of African American men digging a trench, Ulmann’s photograph places the viewer in the midst of their degrading labor. At right, an armed supervisor, his face strangely obscured, menacingly stands guard. This image was printed for the second edition of the book Roll, Jordan Roll, with text by the Southern author Julia Peterkin.

Artist

Doris Ulmann

Date

1929–30, printed 1934

Medium

Photogravure from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987