Existing comment:
Arthur Rothstein
Evicted sharecroppers along Highway 60, New Madrid Country, Missouri, January 1939
In January 1939, travelers on the highway of southern Missouri encountered an alarming sight -- thousands of sharecroppers and their families were camped out on the sides of the road with piles of their possessions beside them. Almost all were African Americans who had been evicted by farm owners. Sharecroppers were entitled to a portion of the harvest of the land they worked, and they had recently been made eligible for federal farm subsidies. Preferring to keep these for themselves, many farm owners evicted sharecroppers, hiring day laborers to work the fields. Leaders of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union used this dramatic moment to capture public attention and encourage the government to step in. Reporters, including Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographer Arthur Rothstein, were there to cover the story. Rothstein's portraits humanized his subjects, presenting them as individuals who deserved to be heard. |