When we look at the past, one thing to remember is that we do so through an askew view. Rose-tinted or otherwise. I won’t deny that in the last year, an exploration of vintage images that has resulted in many galleries at CC has been rewarding. Then again, as some have occasionally pointed out in the comments, those images only tell part of the story and are anything but far from the complete picture.
This is understandable, any documented medium is always imperfect. And visual ones only more so. To begin, they’re easier to store in our collective memory, as incomplete as they may be. Then, they usually reflect the memory of those with larger resources to preserve them.
As some have noticed in our galleries of the ’50s-’60s, they generally showcase a particular reality. That of white-collar workers in new suburban subdivisions, with hardly a minority ever appearing. Being that I haven’t seen any deep studies on the matter, one can only speculate on why that is. First, one can easily guess these white-collar families not only had better means to document their memories, but they were also living a mid-century promise of utopia. They were clearly excited to capture the moment, in an environment where one could easily flaunt camera equipment at ease.
Of course, societies are more complex than visual records can capture. And all nations have parallel storylines, a case even more so in one as large and diverse as the US. Now, why do minorities appear less in my vintage image online browsing? Once again, I can only speculate. Some reasons seem obvious, some others perhaps not.
As is well known, depending on city, county, and state, limitations of movement and accommodations when traveling were common. I would think many minorities wouldn’t be inclined to casual picture-taking mid-afternoon when worrying about reaching a particular destination before sundown restrictions applied. (About which, more can be found in our previous post on the book “Driving While Black.”)
Also, on a closer note, my Puerto Rican relatives in 1960s New York wouldn’t have bothered with taking photos of something like a car, had they owned one. Plus, flaunting a camera was not the best of ideas in their city dwellings.
But regardless of restrictions and limitations, the car just feeds the idea of traveling. As such, it awakens a powerful irrepressible urge in all. In all human history, no group has resisted its allure. And finding a means to own the tools and do the deed is always found.
So, even if such images show up less, show up they do. So here’s the first of a few such galleries, this time featuring African Americans and their cars. Some are at ease, some traveling. My favorite of the lot? The opening image is in what looks like 1950s South Central LA. If so, it was not long before my Puerto Rican uncle arrived to Gardena. And to hear him tell of that period in LA history, made it sound like it was heaven on earth.
What a great gallery of photos! Liberty and Justice for all!🙏 . MAYBE some day we’ll see a gallery of what LBQT folks drive! 💪 🏳️🌈
LGBTQ are almost assuredly featured in every single one of the galleries posted to date…
Quite likely. And some are quietly obvious.
Excellent point, Jim.
Geez, what is up with that hat! Looks like a blue layer cake. My Mom sported a similar pink one for my first Easter pic in 63. My favs are the stunning young lady on the black Chevy and the Tbird shot.
THE 1964 RAMBLER AMBASSADOR HARDTOP IS RARE ENOUGH ON IT’S OWN. THX FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO, RICH BARONVE
So many great pictures showing folks enjoying the fruits of their labors in America .
That most are well dressed is nice, I dislike how sloppily more than 3/4 of folks in So. Cal. dress these days .
Interesting how the front license tag on the ’55 Pontiac is fixed, I remember them dangling lower and often scraped & bent .
-Nate
I also noticed how well-dressed they are.
Much better dressed than people today.
That’s how the front tag on my car is attached, except that I used nylon zip ties. I bought my car from a rear-plate-only state but live in a front-tags-required state, and didn’t notice until I replaced the temporary tags with regular ones that the there was no front mounting frame attached.
I’m with you Nate. Guys wearing pajama bottoms and bedroom slippers in the grocery stores are one of my pet peeves. The dogs they bring with them are often cleaner and better dressed than they are.
I like the B&W shot of the guy with his arms spread, doing his best to hide the toilet seat of the Valiant.
Damn! That’s my favorite of the cars.
Don’t see anyone hiding anything in the pic.
Thanks Jim! Good to know, but hope to see one devoted exclusively!
Definitely. It is no fun unless you can exclude people.
There needs to be a second part to this, truly! Incidentally, the lady sitting on the Thunderbird looks a bit like Aretha Franklin.
Love this post and the photos. A Friday morning treat.
The third picture is from Portland, Oregon – the church in the background is the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church. That church still operates, though the setting looks much different now because the congregation heavily modified the building in the late 1950s – and the also houses in the background were demolished for a big apartment building recently (address is 3138 N. Vancouver Ave.).
I’m going to take a guess about that photo. I think it’s likely that the man in the photo is the church’s pastor, Rev. O.B. Williams, and that the photo was taken in 1950-51 when his congregation purchased the church building. The building formerly housed a church called the Central Methodist Church, and it appears that’s what the sign in the background says in the featured photo. The man in the photo seems to bear a resemblance to Rev. Williams, and I found another photo of him from the same period wearing what appears to be the same suit. Just a guess there, but I figured I’d toss it out as a possibility.
Anyway, the photo below shows the same church during the late 1950s renovation – with a late 1940s/1950 Ford pickup parked at the curb.
All great photos! I really appreciate these, and the text.
The lady with the blue hat….man, she definitely gets the (blue) ribbon for color coordination. Hat, purse, shoes, necklace, bracelet and the house across the street!
Love the couple in yellow with the Thunderbird. Something about her glance at the camera, him looking at her in the background and the trunk open. There must be a story there.
I too think that’s an excellent picture. That’s such a cool looking couple and a well-composed photo. There’s something about her (and it may just be the tunic dress, in that color, matching his shirt) that reminds me of Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura in Star Trek TOS). Classy.
And I’ll also note that the father and son (I guess it’s his son) with the 1961 Cadillac in the photo above that – while I love his attire – entirely looks like the set up for a ventriloquist act.
The T-bird, the pose & the yellow dress immediately made me think ‘Star Trek’.
Wow, 7th. picture, man in blue/white Pontiac- Ulrich Pontiac in Culver City. I remember them, right off Washington Blvd. across from what was then M.G.M. studios.
Alignment techs see all kinds:
Liberal cars pull left..
Conservative cars pull to the right..
But Libertarian cars are the one technicians fear:
They’re all over the freakin’ road! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
O/T but good!
An-Caps love 4WS Preludes?
Here’s an interesting one – it’s my mom and a friend getting into her 59 Metropolitan, with an almost identical Metro parked right in front of them. The Metro was a beloved, trusty but odd looking little runabout.
Sorry,,,pic didn’t post…
I think they’re way cool, cars. Saw a yellow one with red inside @a car show. Was a stunner of a ride.
The “68” Chev wagon in the pic is like one that used to be in the “gas company”,employee lot. (When I was a kid)
The lady with the large blue hat is probably headed to Church. The colloquial name for fancy or designer hats worn in church is “crown”. So she’s got her lovely crown on for church.
The lady in the blue hat, with matching handbag and shoes gets the ‘LOOKING GOOD” award. I remember how people used to dress up in those days. The Rambler is indeed a rarity. Great collection, Rich!
That’s a cool gallery – it’s easy to forget that cars were no less iconic to black people than they were to the typical white of European descent like myself. I suppose if you spend enough time, you’ll find some different trends and tastes, but nothing major. Nowadays, it seems like the average black person is more likely to be deep into car culture than the average white, although smartphones and social media are eating into that across the board (particularly among those young enough to have grown up with them). One thing I’ve noticed too is that my cars seem to get an inordinate amount of reaction from minorities (black and hispanic mostly). I’d say my big Benzes in particular. There are a few things that just cut across racial lines, and cars are one of them. Maybe you could say that more of music, but not by a big margin.
A lot of African-Americans I know, or just seen driving down the road, seem drawn to Buick.
Including an older co-worker of mine at a produce job I held during college: A 1971 or so deuce and a quarter Electra(?), and a 1989 Buick Century.