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John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

   
 
In 1952, renowned American photographer John G. Zimmerman moved to Atlanta. During his time there he shot a series of noteworthy assignments for Ebony depicting the lives of African Americans in the Midwest and the Jim Crow south. These photographs are a lesser-known yet notable part of Zimmerman’s early work. The subject matter ranges from the first all black supermarket in Detroit, boxing legend Joe Louis, to sharecropper Matt Ingram’s quest for justice.
 
The Center for Photographic Art states: “the work of John G. Zimmerman, one of the 20th century’s most wide-ranging and innovative photojournalists, helped generate a golden age in magazine photography. Zimmerman grew up in Torrance, California, developing and printing film in the family kitchen and darkroom. A three-year high school photography program with Hollywood cinematographer Clarence A. Bach prepared him for his first job as a staffer at Time magazine. Following that assignment he spent several years freelancing for Life and Ebony magazines, creating groundbreaking images of the lives of African Americans in the Midwest, and in the deeply segregated, pre-Civil Rights south.”
 
Take a look at Zimmerman’s work in the 1950s through 18 black and white photographs below:
 
Curtis Phillips, winner of the Shoe Shine Contest, Wilson, North Carolina, 1952.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Department store, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Jumping rope, Tennesse, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Swimming hole, Tennessee, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Matt Ingram, wife Linward and their children pray before dinner, Yanceyville, North Carolina, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Southern poverty, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Waiting for vaccines, Montgomery, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Polio vaccine, Montgomery, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Music teacher Katherine Motta in front of her home, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Washing dishes, New Orleans, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Facing eviction, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Rat catcher shows his bounty in the town square, Louisa Kentucky, 1953.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Joe Louis at gym, 1954.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Waiting room in the Northland Center Shopping Center, Detroit, 1954.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Cleaning old glory, Detroit, 1955.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Cleaning old glory, Detroit, 1955.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

Richard Nixon at Young Republicans Biennial National Convention, Detroit, 1955.

 

John G. Zimmerman: American in Black and White

 
Boston Marathon finish, 1956.
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Topics: us old 1950s street life & culture people Tennessee North Carolina Kentucky Detroit New Orleans
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