DOCUMERICA
AND THE BLACK 1970S
IN COLLABORATION WITH
John H. White, DOCUMERICA, 1973
NA Identifier 412-DA-13825
NA Identifier 412-DA-13825
In November 1971, the recently formed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled an ambitious new photography project to the American public. Conceived as a means of cataloging the ongoing environmental crisis, DOCUMERICA aimed to create a "visual baseline" for federal environmental policy.
Over the following six years, dozens of freelance photographers produced DOCUMERICA assignments from across the nation.
Over the following six years, dozens of freelance photographers produced DOCUMERICA assignments from across the nation.
By the project's completion, DOCUMERICA had amassed more than 80,000 photographs by more than 100 photographers. From this massive catalog, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) chose to archive around 22,000 photographs which powerfully visualized the social cost of "environmental harm and defilement."
The majority of DOCUMERICA assignments focused on white Americans, with minority communities pushed to the sidelines. However, some photographers - both directly and indirectly - used their work to shed light on how the nation's environmental problems disproportionately impacted poor and working-class communities of color.
At the same time, they helped to produce something more: a vibrant portrait of Black American life and culture during the 1970s.
The majority of DOCUMERICA assignments focused on white Americans, with minority communities pushed to the sidelines. However, some photographers - both directly and indirectly - used their work to shed light on how the nation's environmental problems disproportionately impacted poor and working-class communities of color.
At the same time, they helped to produce something more: a vibrant portrait of Black American life and culture during the 1970s.
PROJECT AIMS
Jim Pickerell, DOCUMERICA, 1973
NA Identifier 412-DA-4294
NA Identifier 412-DA-4294
1: indexing
While it is possible to search DOCUMERICA's images on the National Archives website by location, photographer, and some topic groups such as "Native Americans" and "Migrant Workers," its images of Black life remain scattered and disorganized.
To date, this project has identified around 350 images among the approximately 16,000 digitized DOCUMERICA photographs that center Black people or the Black experience (e.g. through picturing Black churches, businesses, or residential homes).
These images have been organized into a searchable index, designed to make the Black presence in DOCUMERICA more accessible for both researchers and the general public.
To date, this project has identified around 350 images among the approximately 16,000 digitized DOCUMERICA photographs that center Black people or the Black experience (e.g. through picturing Black churches, businesses, or residential homes).
These images have been organized into a searchable index, designed to make the Black presence in DOCUMERICA more accessible for both researchers and the general public.
2: PHOTO-ESSAYS
Through a series of photo-essays, published in collaboration with Black Perspectives, This Land is Your Land places these image in conversation with one another. It provides more information about key photographers and assignments, and links the documentation of specific environmental concerns to the broader experiences of Black communities across the country during the 1970s.
3: RESTORATION
Although the majority of original DOCUMERICA images held in the National Archives have now been digitized, many are blemished and discolored. This project aims to restore some of these images.
restored image
|
original image
|
A member of a Black-owned Oyster Co-op. Paul Conklin, DOCUMERICA, 1973
NA Identifier 412-DA-4536
NA Identifier 412-DA-4536
