In this podcast, we delve into a photograph by Larry Fink from the Harlem Youth Congressional School Collection. Taken in February of 1964, this image depicts a well-dressed Black man delivering a speech to a relatively large audience. Rendered in black and white, the photograph explores the intersection of race, power dynamics, community, and ethnography. Through the lens of documentary photography, specifically we investigate the historical context of Kodak’s Shirley Card and its role in the systemic exclusion of Black people from photographic documentation until its revision in 1995.
Our podcast questions why photographic technology was not originally designed to encompass the experiences and lives of Black individuals. Furthermore, we examine the impact of Larry Fink’s racial perspective on the composition and narrative of this photograph. Dissecting Fink’s thesis, we’ll consider how Fink’s whiteness taints the photograph, examining the ethics behind his qualifications, as well as the ethnographic implications. Additionally, we draw comparisons between this image and Fink’s prior ethnographic work, analyzing how this photo functioned as documentation. Building on top of our own analysis, we bring in theorists such as Tina Campt, Sarah Lewis, and Shawn Michelle Smith to provide a sharp insight into the systemic implications and intersections of Blackness in documentary photography.
This podcast is part of the Crop and Click series featuring student research on documentary photography from our collection. Click here for a portfolio of all the works discussed in the series.
Hosted and produced by Francesca White and Aazayah Ross. Cover art by Lucy Sherman '23.