MD Stanley B Burns

Picturing Freedom from Stanley Burns and Elizabeth Burns is a wonderful pictorial history of the role of automobiles in African American history, particularly highlighting the often-overlooked middle class and affluent parts of the population.

In addition to the wonderful photographs the essays discuss the double edge sword of the automobile. While offering more mobility and opportunity for migration it also offered authorities more opportunity to arrest and harass African Americans. With the Jim Crow laws and strict segregation there were limited places for travelers to eat or sleep, thus the creation of The Green Book to help.

As informative as the essays are about the big picture the photographs spotlight the people themselves. From families pictured with cars to apparent lovebirds looking at each other, we see the part of history that gets glossed over. Once I started seeing the pictures from the 60s onward it brought back memories, of cars and friends, and of the common feeling that automobile ownership brings of freedom.

This is a great historical reference, both the body of the book itself and the extensive references in the back. But it is also a very moving book of photographs as the reader thinks about the personal stories in each. There are a few such stories presented, which certainly helps to make the reader consider the ones we don't know.

Highly recommended for both history readers and historical photography fans. While not an extremely large format book, it would still make an ideal coffee or end table book since it can elicit comments on so many topics.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (altro)