Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) - Negroes who own land in Greene County

"Negroes who own land in Greene County, Georgia, 1937" is a documentary photograph captured by Dorothea Lange during her work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). During the Great Depression in the Jim Crow South, the vast majority of Black agricultural workers were caught in cycles of debt through sharecropping or tenant farming. African Americans who actually owned their land were a rare exception, facing immense systemic barriers and racial inequality. Lange’s series specifically highlighted land ownership to illustrate both self-reliance and the lingering physical and economic precarity of rural Black landowners. FSA Mission: As part of the Roosevelt administration's New Deal policies, the FSA commissioned photographers like Lange to document conditions across rural America to build public and political support for government relief programs.Lange's Visual Style: The photograph reflects Lange’s characteristic empathy, dignity, and visual precision. Rather than staging scenes, she focused on everyday labor—such as domestic tasks outside a modest wooden home—emphasizing resilience amidst severe economic depression.Archival Preservation: The original negative and caption notes are preserved in the Library of Congress as part of the public domain FSA photographic collection. LC-USF34-017950-C (b&w film neg.)

Estimate:£209.39

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