This image is NOT what it may appear to be. It is a father and daughter. The girl’s mother came to Chicago from West Virginia looking for work. She and the girl were living on the streets when the black man took them into his home, married the mother and adopted the daughter. The Chicago Tribune Magazine published many of my Uptown images but refused to publish this one, believing that it might start a race war. Even after I told them the story, they still refused. Some years later, I showed it to a black female friend who became physically ill from looking at the image. She was deeply offended. The visceral reactions to this image among both black and white Americans tell you how deeply ingrained racism remains in American culture.
