African Americans have faced discrimination in many fields and industries, including photography. For example, the first photo taken by an African American to be put into a book was almost 100 years after the first book with photographs was published.[3]<\/sup><\/a> African American voices were completely silenced for a century, unable to take part in a form of media that whites actively participated in. In the same way, Baynard overcame African American underrepresentation by specifically photographing African Americans. This was uncommon, as photos were generally only taken for rich whites that could afford photo shoots. If blacks were in photos, they were assuming inferior roles or in the background. This change in having African Americans as the focus of photos emphasized how they are their own individuals, and that these images \u201creveal the variety of lives African-Americans had in the 19th century, particularly the ones that reveal triumphs over adversity.\u201d [4]<\/sup><\/a> By challenging black systematic oppression in San Diego, Baynard\u2019s photographs enabled blacks to rise above prejudice and racial stereotype; they could dictate how they were viewed. By allowing them to shape their own image, blacks can express themselves, as well as expose the racism that is still alive and prevalent in society. The visual representation of the advancement of blacks in society provides an encouraging sentiment for viewers, but also illuminates how much work there is still to be done to achieve equality.[5]<\/sup><\/a> As photography is a medium of self-representation, Baynard revealed the challenges as an African American photographer, as well as the effects of having blacks as the subjects \u2014 instead of objects \u2014 in his photos.<\/p>\n Decades later, Baynard\u2019s photos continue to shape and influence the San Diego area. His collection of 28000 images were posthumously donated to the San Diego History Museum, where they decided to organize and dedicate an exhibit on his work. With his myriad of random photos, the museum sorted and filtered them for almost two decades until just 500 of Baynard\u2019s best shots were chosen to be digitally reproduced and used in the exhibit. However, since Baynard was a commercial photographer, he rarely wrote down names or dates with the photos he took. Therefore, many African Americans living in the San Diego\/Logan Heights area were brought in to try and identify the people and places in the photographs.[6]<\/sup><\/a> This indirectly enabled residents to enjoy the photos, many not even knowing that they existed, and to take a take a trip down memory lane. Despite financial and logistical problems, the Norman Baynard exhibit was finally opened to the public at the San Diego History Center in 2011. With just a camera, Baynard captured daily life, life changing events, and everything in between for African Americans in the 1940s to 70s. But most importantly, he created a portrait of the struggles and challenges of blacks in the west. These photos can be used as a reminder to society that blacks are not just static in the South, but face oppression everywhere in the nation. Moreover, Baynard highlights that the fight against bigotry is not over but has come a long way in the past few years. Norman Baynard continues to influence society today, not only with his photos, but with the legacy and precedent he set for African American photographers.<\/p>\n With the advancement of technology, photography has become a medium that can be used by anyone with a phone. Therefore, we do not experience the same barriers to recording people and events that those 50 years ago had to struggle with. However, Baynard was successful in enabling thousands of African Americans to express and permanently etch themselves into San Diego\u2019s history, as well as the overall African American narrative. As a photographer in California, Baynard challenged societal norms and black oppression by documenting the struggles and successes of African Americans. His photos urge viewers today to interpret them for what they suggest about the political, cultural, and social changes and events happening during the 1940s to 70s, and how they continue to influence society today. [7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n [8] Bibliography<\/p>\n Baynard, Norman. “91:18476-1072.\u201d San Diego History Center<\/em>. Jan. 22, 1979. sandiegohistory.pastperfectonline.com\/photo\/DDBC0964-99ED-4EA0-BBB1<\/u><\/em>159362211467.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n Pincus, Robert L. \u201cRacism’s subjects stare out of time.\u201d The San Diego Union-Tribune. <\/em>May 28, 1995. https:\/\/advance-lexis-com.sandiego.idm.oclc.org\/api\/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:4P7G-PSY0-TWDC-M4GY-00000-00&context=1516831.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n Sheehan, Tanya. \u201cThe Journal of American History.\u201d<\/em> 93, no. 3 (2006): 815-19. doi:10.2307\/4486420. www.jstor.org\/stable\/4486420.<\/u><\/p>\n Stetz, Michael. “Black History Flashback; Wanted: names, dates to go with historic collection of local photos.” The San Diego Union-Tribune. <\/em>February 27, 2011. https:\/\/advance-lexis-com.sandiego.idm.oclc.org\/api\/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:528Y-DRJ1-JBM1-B3DJ-00000-00&context=1516831.<\/p>\n Williams, Carla. “The Black Photographers Annual.” Aperture<\/em>, no. 223 (2016): 30-33. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/43825319.<\/p>\n Footnotes<\/p>\n [1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Michael Stetz, “Black History Flashback; Wanted: names, dates to go with historic collection of local photos.” The San Diego Union-Tribune. <\/em>February 27, 2011.https:\/\/advance-lexis-com.sandiego.idm.oclc.org\/api\/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:528Y-DRJ1-JBM1-B3DJ-00000-00&context=1516831.<\/span><\/p>\n [2]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0Norman Baynard, “91:18476-1072.\u201d San Diego History Center<\/em>. Jan. 22, 1979. sandiegohistory.pastperfectonline.com\/photo\/DDBC0964-99ED-4EA0-BBB1-159362211467.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n [3]<\/sup><\/a> Carla Williams, “The Black Photographers Annual.” Aperture<\/em>, no. 223 (2016): 30-33. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/43825319.<\/span><\/p>\n [4]<\/sup><\/a> Robert L. Pincus, \u201cRacism’s subjects stare out of time.\u201d The San Diego Union-Tribune. <\/em>May 28, 1995. https:\/\/advance-lexis-com.sandiego.idm.oclc.org\/api\/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:4P7G-PSY0-TWDC-M4GY-00000-00&context=1516831.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n [5]<\/sup><\/a> Tanya Sheehan, \u201cThe Journal of American History.\u201d<\/em> 93, no. 3 (2006): 815-19. doi:10.2307\/4486420. www.jstor.org\/stable\/4486420.<\/u><\/p>\n [6]<\/sup><\/a> Stetz, “Black History Flashback; Wanted: names, dates to go with historic collection of local photos.”<\/p>\n [7]<\/sup><\/a> Sheehan, \u201cThe Journal of American History.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [8]<\/sup><\/a> Norman Baynard, “91:18476-1072.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From cave drawings to elaborate paintings, humans have created works of art to record events and evoke emotions using visual pictures. So with the inception of photography in the early 1800s, this new art form was created for the same Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/blackhistoryatusd\/files\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-06-at-5.55.10-PM-1-237x300.png\")
<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n