"Tent City" Family
Artist
Ernest C. Withers
(American, 1922–2007)
Date1960
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensions27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustin S. Garver Fund
Terms
Object number2004.16.4
Description"Tent City" in Fayette County, Tennessee, was created when black families were evicted from their homes for voting in 1960. They took up residence on the property of Shep Toles. The idea was conceived by Attorney J. F. Estes, an ex-U.S. Army major, legal counsel for Jhn McFerren of Somerville, Tennessee, and head of the Fayette County movement.Label TextThe early 1900s saw many attempts to thwart African Americans’ ability to exercise their basic right to vote. Poll taxes and literacy tests were among the numerous methods used to disenfranchise potential black voters. In 1960, a list of registered African American voters was distributed in Fayette County, Tennessee and white business owners took it upon themselves to end business with them. Many black sharecroppers were evicted from their homes and, like the family depicted here, were left to take up a tented residence on the land of Shepard Towles, one of few black farmers who owned his own land.ProvenanceG.W. Einstein Co., New York, NY
On View
Not on view
Ernest C. Withers
December 1956
