Brooks School alumni and leading scholar of Southern Culture, Bill Ferris, has spent his life studying and documenting the South. His work in "The South in Color" and "The Storied South" captures the daily lives of African Americans in the South during the 1970s. The pieces portray the realities of segregation, poverty, and discrimination faced by the black community, and show the resilience and strength of Blacks who faced these many challenges.
Ferris’ use of color photography adds a vivid and powerful aspect to his work, which brought the subject to life and made it more impactful. The oral histories from his books portray a significant emotional element, allowing the subjects to share their perspectives and experiences. Ferris’ work offers a nuanced and humanizing portrayal of the black community, which continues to help raise awareness of the ongoing racial issues in the US.
For example, the viewer sees the people outside of the church. What stories can we see from their clothes and stature? We see the older women in their Sunday hats and the children in their best clothes. We can see that this is a large family or group of close friends for whom going to Sunday church is a special event.
These photographs not only showcase the diversity and complexity of the American South but also challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about the region. In the photograph of the inmates at Parchman Penitentiary, a notoriously harsh prison in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, men are sweaty, exhausted, and seeking some relief in the hot summer sun. But what the photograph shows are the conditions of working in what is most likely a cotton field for little or no money, a “job” for a prisoner. Ferris was paying close attention to the most marginalized citizens of the South through his images. He realized their impact on our culture and society was grievously under-appreciated or recorded.
My family has deep roots in the Mississippi Delta, the land of cotton, where wealth was once abundant but was made on the backs of Black people. African Americans were often offered little education; they were compensated meagerly through commissaries where the currency was specific to the plantation where they worked. This is the injustice that Ferris was conveying; one which pours out to the viewer.
Growing up in the South has had a significant impact on my perception of racial and social disparities. Memphis, my hometown, has a long history of racial discrimination and segregation. We are known as the city where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and now as the city where Tyre Nichols was brutally murdered by police officers just last month. The city has struggled for a very long time with poverty, housing issues, and high crime rates. To this day, there is a strong lack of understanding of the ongoing effects of systemic racism, and how it has resulted in racial disparities and socioeconomic inequalities.
Additionally, the South has influenced my understanding of social issues such as poverty and inequality. These issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities, particularly those of color. It is worth bearing in mind that not everyone who has grown up in the South shares the same views on racial and social issues and everyone has their own unique experiences and perspectives. The work included in this show speaks to me. Each shows a person, a place, or a time that reminds me of my family’s history in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. While extremely complicated, I have feelings of familiarity with these images. It is from that vantage point that I can translate them.
Ferris is the creator of the study of Southern Culture, and his photographs are but a part of the extensive research and writings. As photography does, these pieces capture the lives of Southern African Americans whose vast influence over our country and the world through music, art, food, family, and everyday life is unparalleled.