Antique Way

Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination

Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photographers

Photographers working for the Farm Security Administration Historical Section (later transferred to the Office of War Information) were encouraged to document continuity and change in many aspects of life in America during the years the unit was in operation. They were particularly encouraged to photograph billboards and signs as one indicator of such developments.

Although no documentation has been found to indicate that photographers were explicitly encouraged to photograph racial discrimination signs, the collection includes a significant number of this type of image, which is rarely found in other Prints and Photographs Division collections.

This reference aid includes all the known images of discrimination signs found in the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information file of photographic prints. This list was compiled in response to frequent patron requests for such images. The list is updated as additional images are discovered.

Photographs copies of the images may be ordered through the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service (202-707-5640). When placing orders, the reproduction number should be cited.

The Library of Congress is unaware of any restrictions on the use of the images. For further information, see the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information/Office of Emergency Management Collection Rights and Restrictions information.

1) Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyards, Baltimore, Maryland.
May 1943.
Arthur Siegel, photographer.
"A drinking fountain." [Sign: "White."]

26) Sisseton, South Dakota. September 1939.
John Vachon, Photograph.
"Sign in a beer parlor window." [Sign: "No Beer sold to Indians."]

3) Durham, North Carolina. May 1940.
Jack Delano, photographer.
"A street scene near the bus station."

18) Durham, North Carolina. May 1940.
Jack Delano, photographer.
"A cafe near the tobacco market." [Signs: Separate doors for "White" and for "Colored."]

13) On the way from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee. September 1943.
Esther Bubley, photographer.
" A rest stop for Greyhound bus passengers on the way from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, with separate accommodations for colored passengers." [Sign: "Colored Dining Room in Rear."]

17) Memphis, Tennessee. June 1937.
Dorothea Lange, Photograph.
"A fish restaurant for Negroes in the section of the city where cotton hoers are recruited." [Sign: "Bryant's Place Hot Fish for Colored."]

27) Birney, Montana. August 1941.
Marion Post Wolcott, photographer.
"People who came to Saturday night dance around the bar."
[Sign: "Positively no beer sold to Indians."]

30) Waco, Texas. November 1939.
Russell Lee, photographer.
"Sign above moving picture theater." [Sign: "The Gem Theatre Exclusive Colored Theatre."]