Product Review

Leonard Freed (1929-2006) was inspired to capture the African American experience while he was in Berlin in 1962 to photograph the building of the Berlin wall. He noticed a black soldier standing in front of the wall and was struck by the fact that this soldier was ready to defend America abroad, while at home African Americans were facing their own battle for civil rights. Traveling in New York, Washington, D.C., and throughout the South, Freed captured images that reflected the struggle for the end of racial segregation.
First published in 1968, Black in White America shows many aspects of black life in 1960s America, from political marches and rallies to children playing and splashing in the spray of a fire hydrant, from signs for colored entrances to interactions with whites. One particularly poignant image shows Martin Luther King Jr. in an open convertible being greeted by an eager crowd of admirers. Freed's captions include observations, stories about the people he met, lyrics from spirituals, and an excerpt from the "I have a dream" speech.