A Small Nation of People: W. E. B. Du Bois and African American Portraits of Progress [Hardcover]

David Levering Lewis (Author), Deborah Willis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2003

As the world prepared for the Exposition Universalle de 1900 in Paris, W. E. B. Du Bois was approached to help represent African American life. He came with a cache of stunning photographs to illustrate the progress of Negroes in America -- thereby offering a photographic counterpoint to the prolific stereotyping of blacks that left viewers awestruck.

With insights from Pulitzer Prize winner David Levering Lewis and Mac-Arthur Fellow photo historian Deborah Willis, A Small Nation of People presents more than one hundred and fifty of these important photographs together for the first time since their initial unveiling. Here is an incredible treasure trove of illustrations of African Americans in front of their new businesses, universities, and homes -- sometimes modest, sometimes elegant. Here, too, are beautiful Victorian-era portraits of blacks whose varied hues show how diverse black Americans truly were. Viewed together, the collection reveals in glorious detail what Du Bois saw -- a small nation of people prepared to make their mark on America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After his 1895 speech advocating economic opportunities for African-Americans, the press asked of Booker T. Washington, "Is He a New Negro?" According to photographic historian Deborah Willis, the term "New Negro" became shorthand for "a spirit of self-awareness, artistic consciousness, and racial pride," a spirit that has been captured in this 8" 8" book of 150 late-19th-century duotone photographs. The images, used by W.E.B. Du Bois for his "Exhibit of American Negroes" at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, depict African-American businesses, churches, homes and schools, as well as African-Americans themselves, usually in the stiff collar, plumed hat and pince-nez of the middle class. The goal of the exhibition, writes Levering Lewis, author of a multi-volume Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Du Bois, was to show African-Americans as "a proud, productive, and cultured race." In their introductory articles, Lewis and Willis both tell the history of the exhibition and interpret the photographs. If they occasionally lapse into awkward academic prose, their essays provide welcome context for the pictures, which are more informative about period conventions than moving, possibly because Du Bois saw them as sociological markers and neglected to take the subjects' or the photographers' names. Perhaps the photographs' most significant feature is the response they generated. At the world's fair, Du Bois and his exhibition won gold medals; in America, the exhibition and its success received no press at all. Furthermore, Lewis astutely points out the parallel between America's eagerness to impress Europe and African-Americans' eagerness to impress America: using the stage of the world's fair, both groups frankly lobbied for legitimacy as "culturally mature." In subsequent years, however, the international perception of America improved, while race relations at home deteriorated. Except for these photographs, preserved in the Library of Congress, the constructed image of the New Negro was dropped from history.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

W. E. B. DuBois was charged with preparing an exhibit to represent the lives of black Americans for the 1900 International Exposition in Paris, a task the U.S. government had blatantly ignored. DuBois approached the assignment as an opportunity to counteract negative stereotypes of black Americans, presenting instead photographs depicting the industry, intelligence, and diversity of African Americans in their lives--at church, school, and work, and in family portraits. Daniel Alexander Payne Murray, a man born to freed slaves who became the personal assistant to the Librarian of Congress in 1871, maintained the collection and left it to his employer. In this impressive book, the library offers 150 of the collected photographs, accompanied by essays providing historic context and analyzing the significance of DuBois' efforts to provide an accurate portrayal of the accomplishments, aspirations, and lives of black Americans at a time when racism and stereotypes abounded in the U.S. Readers interested in African American history from the turn of the twentieth century will love this rare glimpse of photographs from that era. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Amistad; First Edition edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060523425
• ISBN-13: 978-0060523428
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,481,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Anyone Interested in American History, December 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Small Nation of People: W. E. B. Du Bois and African American Portraits of Progress (Hardcover)

The story of the pictures that W.E.B. Du Bois collected for the Paris World's Fair in 1900 is really inspiring and fascinating. He had only four months to make an entire exhibit -- when the vast majority of exhibitors participating had far longer. Years in some cases! And yet Du Bois triumphed. Plus the pictures are beautiful and surprising. Don't miss this book if you or your family is interested in American History.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty of a People Recorded in Pictures, January 5, 2004

By 

T. Kelley (houston, texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Small Nation of People: W. E. B. Du Bois and African American Portraits of Progress (Hardcover)

It it the last photo in this book that I believe leaves the most indelible impression on my mind. The photo is of a young woman/girl smiling as if she hasn't a worry in the world. One cannot help but be moved inexpressively by her picture.

The book is composed of photographs of black Americans that were part of the world exhibition showing the "progess" of men in the 1900's. W.E.B. Du Bois put the photographs together for show to contradict the negative stereotypes of blacks of his day. In each of picture you see men and women at work, play, or just in imtimate photographs meant to give to a loved one, friend, or to show their own personal achievement and status to the world and their community.
There are black Americans of every beautiful hue in the book from dark to very light, each a protrait of personel dignity and integrity who did not make Faustian deals for fame and forturne like all to many blacks in the popular culture of Hollywood and the media today, especially if they are exceptioanlly light. The men and women in this book challeged the prejudices against them instead of catering to it, a lesson for anyone regardless of race, religion, or sexuality.

This is a book that should not be purchased by only blacks, but whites as well and others seeking just to understand the history and diversity of black America beyond what popular culture wants you to think or sell you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recording History Through Pictures, September 7, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Small Nation of People: W. E. B. Du Bois and African American Portraits of Progress (Hardcover)

W. E. B. DuBois says in the opening page, A SMALL NATION OF PEOPLE
is "an honest, straightforward exhibit of a small nation of people,
picturing their life and development without apology or gloss, and
above all made by themselves..." This book displays
portraits of African-Americans in a way that shows the progress made
in the 20th century, and they dispel the negative connotations we've
grown accustomed to seeing in the media, in the newspapers and even
in the history books of today.

Once part of the Paris Exhibition, these pictures speak volumes
individually and collectively and show a special type of pride, a
certain strength that isn't displayed in commercial venues such as
movies. It was wonderful seeing all types of buildings, landscapes
ranging from Georgia to Washington D.C. and also seeing businessmen,
such as Warren C. Coleman, the owner of the only Negro-owned cotton
mill in the United States at the time the picture was taken.

With essays by David Levering Lewis & Deborah Willis, centered
around the beautiful portraits of a culture, A SMALL NATION OF
PEOPLE, is a must-have for every African-American or those interested
in the diversity of our race. From the hairstyles, to the clothing,
to the actual hue of the skin, this book talks to you and shares the
pride of a people determined to make it despite having recently come
out of slavery.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers