The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America [Hardcover]

Louis P. Masur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Sometimes a moment can change history. This one took 1/250th of a second.

The photograph strikes us with visceral force, even years after the instant it captured. A white man, rage written on his face, lunges to spear a black man who is being held by another white. The assailant’s weapon is the American flag. Boston, April 5, 1976: As the city simmered with racial tension over forced school busing, newsman Stanley Forman hurried to City Hall to photograph that day’s protest, arriving just in time to snap the image that his editor would title “The Soiling of Old Glory.” The photo made headlines across the U.S. and won Forman his second Pulitzer Prize. It shocked Boston, and America: Racial strife had not only not ended with the 1960s, it was alive and well in the cradle of liberty.

Louis P. Masur’s evocative “biography of a photograph” unpacks this arresting image in a tour de force of historical writing. He examines the power of photography and the meaning of the flag, asking why this one picture had so much impact. Most poignantly, Masur recreates the moment and its aftermath, drawing on extensive interviews with Forman and the figures in the photo to reveal not just how the incident happened, but how it changed the lives of the men in it. The Soiling of Old Glory, like the photograph it is named for, offers a dramatic window onto the turbulence of the 1970s and race relations in America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Historian Masur (1831: Year of Eclipse) has written a gem of a book based on an iconic, Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph by Stanley Forman. Taken on April 5, 1976, at a Boston rally against forced school busing, it's a stark, frightening image of an angry white teenager brandishing an American flag at a well-dressed African-American man, apparently trying to impale him. Published on the front page of newspapers across the country, the photo crystallized the complex issues that enflamed Boston during the city's school busing crisis. Masur addresses the source of the picture's power on a multitude of levels, bringing uncommon wisdom and explanatory skills to his analysis of the collision of the Civil Rights movement, racism and community concerns about court-ordered busing programs. Masur is superb when deconstructing the photo, pointing out the elements of its composition that infused it with meaning, while at the same time asking provocative questions that illuminate how the interpretation of a photograph can affect our perception of an event. Equally compelling is Masur's discussion of the shifting and potent historical symbolism of the American flag, which stands at the metaphorical center of the photo. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Contributing to memoirs from the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Katzenbach combines personal anecdotes with reflections on the rule of law in the American federal system. A lawyer, Katzenbach held posts in the Department of Justice, including that of attorney general, which he resigned in 1966 to become an undersecretary at the State Department. History may little note his brief diplomatic career, but it recognizes his role as a primary advisor on civil rights to the Kennedy brothers and Lyndon Johnson. After recounting his recruitment into the new administration in 1961, Katzenbach relates the pressure particular campaigns of the civil rights movement brought to bear on the federal government. Integrating universities in Mississippi and Alabama, integrating public accommodations, protecting the Selma marchers, and gaining congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965––Katzenbach played a crucial part in the federal government’s action in all these events. When added to his personal interactions with JFK, RFK, and LBJ, Katzenbach’s recollections constitute a significant new source for larger collections on the turbulent 1960s. --Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press; First Edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596913649
• ISBN-13: 978-1596913646
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Analysis of a Photo That Changed a City, April 8, 2008

By 

Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America (Hardcover)

Anyone who was living in Boston in 1976 and had any interest in the news will remember this photograph all too well. It certainly shocked the City of Boston, and had reverberations around the world. Although the author states he cannot remember where he was when he first saw the photo, I can recall clearly where I was and what I was doing.

The author does a wonderful job of looking at all aspects of the photo, as well as what led up to the incident where the photo was taken. Included is analysis of what happened during the incident, who the players in the photo were, how they came to be where they were when the incident occurred, and probably most importantly, the back story of school bussing in Boston at that time. In addition, the author looks at how a city that is considered as progressive could be so racist in it's attitudes towards various ethnic groups.

Finally, after dissecting the photograph and the various players, the author looks at the reverberations caused by the picture and where the City is now on the issue. That, in many ways, was the most important aspect of the book.

The book is well written and contains all of the pertinent information needed to understand the issue of bussing and what caused these young men to be in City Hall Plaza at the time of the incident. It will certainly be a book of interest to historians and those with an interest in Boston's politics.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outsanding work on a sad day in American History, April 20, 2008

By 

R. C Sheehy "deadsox" (Foxboro,MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America (Hardcover)

Louis Masur does an excellent job taking a single act of racism and hatred captured in one of the most shameful photographs in American history and shaping it into the proper context and providing the background which not only lead to the actual event, but was responsible for the deep feelings that the terrible action had not only on the American people but on people around the world. Mr. Masur gives a great background on the meaning of the flag in the American psyche but does a wonderful job of how very succinctly using other resources to explain the impact that busing had in Boston and how due to political mismanagement was the ultimate cause of this terrible racist act.

I also think Mr. Masur deserves credit for not beating up on the individual who committed this terrible act while at the same time not forgiving him for his act of racism caught forever. Mr. Masur does a great job of painting the picture of the news photographers whom he does not let off the hook very easily. All in all this is a well rounded and complete book much deeper then one might expect.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A photograph can tell many truths, January 16, 2009

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America (Paperback)

A young white man aims an American flag pole at a black man during a bussing demonstration in Boston. Masur analyzes details of this iconic photograph.

-- The scene is near the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770.
-- It evokes the killing of Crispus Attacks, an African American sailor.
-- The black man's posture evokes the crucified Christ.
-- The white attacker evokes the Roman soldier piercing Christ's side.
-- The bricks create lines perpendicular to the horizonal flag pole.
-- The flag furls as it did on the flag at Iwo Jima, another iconic image.
-- The camera lens distorts the left side of the photo adding motion to the thrust of the pole.
-- The crowd appears to be rushing to the attack.
-- The black man is being beaten and being lifted up.
-- The picture captures the victims point of view: "fist, flag, frenzy."

But the multiple exposures before and after this photo reveal:

-- The flag pole missed the black man.
-- The white man in the white shirt is anti-bussing, but trying to stop the attack.
-- A real person took the pictures; another photo shows him doing so.

Masur continues his analysis of this wonderful, award winning photograph, adding layer after layer of analysis and content. He describes and interviews many of the key players, including the photographer, describes the photographic techniques and the editorial decisions in running the photo, the historical and political context of the photo and the aftermath, all in fascinating, dense historical detail.

Along the way, he weaves in other iconic images involving the American flag:

-- "Flag Raising on Mt. Suribachi", 1945
-- "Spirit of '76", 1876
-- "Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March", 1965
-- "Flag Raising at Ground Zero", 2001
-- "Milvertha Hendricks", 2005

This is a splendid analysis of an important photograph in the history of American filled with interest and displaying a profound understanding of how photographs can inform and distort history.

Robert C. Ross 2009