Adults and children in church

Adults and children in church

Ellis Myers Photographic Collection

Maybe 1950

Black and white negative of group of adults and children inside of a church. One girl sitting at piano. This photograph was taken by Ellis Bayles Myers. Myers was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on December 5th, 1916. Growing up, Myers quit school after the fifth grade to help support his family and in 1943, was drafted into a segregated regiment of the Marine Corps. During his time overseas, Myers met a black photographer who inspired him to pursue photography. In 1946, Myers moved to Richmond, California, which offered more opportunities than the segregated south and allowed Myers to establish his photography business with the motto "In your home, at your convenience". The success of his business allowed Myers to move to Parchester Village, where he created a permanent darkroom in his garage. Although it was financially successful and personally satisfying, Myers ended his photography business around 1960 with the introduction of color photography. Myers documented African Americans enjoying a middle-class lifestyle through images of community social events, nightlife, family events, church events and formal portraits. Although African Americans in the postwar period (1946-1960) faced systemic inequalities and an inequal distribution of resources, the images from the Myers collection show that despite this, the postwar African American community in Richmond fully participated in the local economy, leisure events, social clubs, religious activities and politics.

Creator: Myers, Ellis

Local history
California--History, Local
Photography--Negatives

Richmond (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.)

1940 to 1960

Photographic Negative

1 Page

4 x 5 in

Original

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United States

Richmond Museum of History

3326
990.52.20

https://archive.org/details/caricmh_000463