BLACK WOMAN SELLING GAS FILLED “HAVE A HAPPY DAY” BALLOONS ON A CHICAGO SOUTH SIDE STREET CORNER AT SOX PARK BASEBALL FIELD MANY OF THE CITY’S BLACK BUSINESS OWNERS STARTED WITH SMALL OPERATIONS SUCH AS THIS AND GREW BY WORKING HARD. TODAY CHICAGO IS BELIEVED TO BE THE BLACK BUSINESS CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES. BLACK ENTERPRISES MAGAZINE REPORTED IN 1973 THAT THE CITY HAD 14 OF THE TOP 100 BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE COUNTRY, ONE MORE THAN NEW YORK CITY
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…
“Black woman selling gas filled “have a happy day” balloons on a Chicago South Side street…”
Artist
Date
1973–4
From
Documerica
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