PRICE ALLEN, THE PEANUT MAN, WHO SELLS HIS PRODUCT AND TALKS ABOUT THE BIBLE TO CUSTOMERS ON CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE. CENSUS FIGURES FOR 1970 SHOWED THERE WERE 8,747 BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE CITY THAT GROSSED MORE THAN $332 MILLION. BUT STATISTICS NOTE THAN 80% OF BLACK BUSINESSES FAIL WITHIN TWO YEARS BECAUSE OF RACIAL PREJUDICE AND LACK OF CAPITAL, BUSINESS EXPERTISE AND SUPPORT FROM THE BLACK COMMUNITY
Featured on PDR in the collection John H. White’s Photographs of Black Chicago for DOCUMERICA (1973–74)
It’s hard not to read John H. White’s DOCUMERICA series as a love letter to Black Chicago. Whether capturing protesters or checkers players, concerts or chores, White’s work feels animated by a wonder and curiosity for the great breadth of stories and characters he encountered while exploring his adopted home city — “life”, as he put it in the captions to several of his images, “in all its seasons”.
Also appearing in the collection…
“Price Allen, the peanut man, who sells his product and talks about the Bible to customers…”
Artist
Date
1973–4
From
Documerica
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