PHOTOGRAPHS OF DENVER'S AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN THE 1950s by McCloud, Burnis

Very good. A series of black and white photographs from the 1950s taken by Burnis McCloud (1908-90), an African American photographer who created the largest visual record of Denver's black community from the 1930s forward capturing images of everything from daily events to visits by leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. A native of Alabama, McCloud moved to Denver amidst the Great Depression seeking work. He landed a position as a janitor at the State Capitol and pursued his hobby of photography. His day job afforded him the opportunity to photograph important politicians, including Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, when they visited Denver. But McCloud is best known for his photographs of everyday people. After being laid off in 1952, he became a fulltime professional photographer, assembling a photographic record of Denver's African American community at a time when their lives were not covered in the mainstream media. An archive of his work is housed at the Denver Public Library, comprised of thousands of photographs, negatives, clipping files, and business records. The collection includes fourteen 8" x 10" photographs by McCloud, whose name is printed in the lower portion of the image. The people in the photographs are not identified but one woman appears in multiple images. They include the following: six photographs of women at a small beauty parlor, with some general wear, a few closed tears, and one with a small dime-size chip; four photographs from The Third Annual Hair-Style Show and Dance Kappa Omega Chi Chapter, Alpha Chi Pi Omega Sorority, Denver, Colorado, February 4, 1957; group photograph of nine unidentified African American women; group photograph taken at Denver Chapter, National Jr. League Inc.'s Annual Christmas Cocktail Dance on December 25, 1957; and two group photographs from the Syrian Temple No. 49 Annual Potentate's Ball, one from January 31, 1958 with closed tears and chips, and the second from February 21, 1957. This collection also includes photographs of unidentified African American people not labeled McCloud photographs. There are four color 8" x 10" color photographs, a 5" x 7" color photograph from the 1960s, two copies of a 7" x 5" black and white photograph, and one 8" x 10" black and white photograph with the credit "Tommy".