We thank Ava Thorpe, Fall 2024 Archives, History, and Heritage Advanced intern in the Library’s Professional Learning and Outreach Office, for this post.
My project goal was to highlight the complicated relationship between African Americans and the U.S. criminal justice and law enforcement systems through the history of chain gangs, a term commonly used for prison labor camps, especially in the 1890s in U.S. southern states. I paired historical newspapers and other primary sources from LOC.gov with culturally relevant teaching strategies to develop new curricula for my undergraduate students. I was able to teach curriculum during the semester, and I realized that this approach excites students, engaging and encouraging them to analyze and discuss topics.
I gave my undergraduate students this photograph to analyze without any historical context and asked them to form their own observations, reflections, and questions. To support their thinking, I asked:
- What do you notice first? Any clues to the people in this image or their location?
- When do you think this image was created? What makes you say that?
- Who do you think created this image? For what purpose and audience?
- What do you wonder about this image? What else?
- What can you learn from analyzing this image? How does your analysis of this primary source support or challenge what you think you already know about related history?
The picture encouraged my students to look critically at this aspect of U.S. history and to investigate further. For example, how far have these punitive systems come? What about these systems remains the same? This image serves as an excellent historical reference and a jumping-off point for class discussion of social and cultural issues of the 1890s to the 1990s that continue to influence the United States’ criminal justice innovations and ideas today.
When analyzing this photo myself, I noted both my critical and my emotional responses. The picture is compelling to me for several reasons. In observing the photograph, I see men of various ages. Looking closely at their faces and physical characteristics, I think there are young boys, teenagers, and adults in the group. They all appear to be African American. They are dressed in black-and-white horizontally striped shirts and pants, so I think these must be prison uniforms. Several also wear hats of different types. I notice one man in the background stands out, possibly wearing a dark suit jacket or coat. Drawing upon my prior knowledge, I think these men all appear to be part of a chain gang. Observing the presence of young boys in this picture is especially unsettling for me because it highlights the harsh historical reality that children were also subjected to these punitive systems.
My internship transformed my approach to teaching criminal justice, highlighting the power of primary source analysis in fostering critical thinking.
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